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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2007
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For more information:
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Follow-up Letter on Behalf of Umida Niyazova
May 7, 2007
President Islam Karimov
c/o Embassy of Uzbekistan
1746 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20036
Dear President Karimov:
We are writing on behalf of the International Women’s Media Foundation to express our alarm concerning independent journalist Umida Niyazova.
Niyazova was sentenced May 1 to seven years in prison. At a trial that was closed to the press, she was found guilty of charges of smuggling subversive literature and distributing foreign aid material that threatens national security. Niyazova had already spent more than three months in jail. We find these charges, at best, questionable, and at worst, irresponsible; furthermore, the prison sentence is unjustified.
Niyazova has covered politics and human rights in Uzbekistan for the Central Asia news Web site Oasis, a project of the Moscow-based media watchdog Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations. She has worked for CJES since 2000 and has written for Oasis under a pseudonym. She also contributed to Human Rights Watch, Freedom House and Internews Network.
With the recent increase in such threats to journalists, and even deaths because of their work, we are concerned that Niyazova’s conviction signals more restrictions on free expression and press freedom in Uzbekistan. All viewpoints should be allowed to be expressed in the media without force or coercion from authorities.
As a network of thousands of women and men in the media around the world who are supporters of a worldwide free press, we respectfully urge you to intervene to ensure that Niyazova – who was simply engaged in carrying out her professional work – is safely released. By using your power to ensure that justice is done in this case, you will take a strong step toward preserving a free and independent press in Uzbekistan.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Eleanor Clift, co-chair
Liza Gross, co-chair
cc: U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan
3 Moyqorghon Street, 5th Block
Yunusobod District
100093 Tashkent
Uzbekistan
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