Uzbekistan
Out of 180 countries listed, Uzbekistan takes 156th place in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index Rankings published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The country was ranked 166th in 2015 which signifies that the freedom of the press in Uzbekistan has improved over the last five years.
RSF is an independent, non-profit, and non-governmental organization that aims to promote freedom of information. According to RSF, while the first president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, was in charge the country had one of the toughest dictatorial regimes.
Currently, with the new president of the country, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the totalitarian state is loosening its grip. For instance, the websites that were blocked by the government are now available for public use and journalists can now cover topics, such as corruption, forced labor, abuse, and others.
Furthermore, RSF states that the journalists who had been held in prison for nearly 20 years were released. However, this does not include everyone.
A video blogger based in southeastern Uzbekistan’s Surxondaryo region, Otabek Sattoryi, is still in jail and perhaps risks 10 years in prison on the charge of extortion.
The latest video of the blogger on his YouTube channel “Xalq Fikri” (People’s Opinion), criticizes authorities for fabricating criminal charges against other bloggers. Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, said, “this is yet another attempt to silence critical voices in Uzbekistan.”
Uzbekistan scored 10 out of 100 on the 2020 Global Freedom Score published by Freedom House which is a U.S.-based, non-governmental organization that strives to support democracy, political freedom, and human rights around the world.
Despite current reforms under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev including reforms that led to a relatively small decrease in media domination, the country remains dictatorial.
The most famous reports of abuse and torture remain to be dismissed and the majority of media is under the control of the state. Privately run media is still oppressed by the authorities. Even though private media openly covers topics such as abuse and corruption, it still avoids criticizing the president.
There are only five registered political parties, UzLiDep, the UXDP, Adolat, Milliy Tiklanish, and the Ecological Party. They are all government and rarely criticize one another or the government itself.
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Ruslan Sadretdinov is studying Political Science and Business Administration at the American University in Bulgaria. He’s fond of analyzing political situations in different countries.
