Media NGO Braces For More Legal Trouble in Uzbekistan

With one court case over, a California-based media development organization is bracing for more legal trouble in Uzbekistan.

Two top representatives of the Internews office in Tashkent – Khalida Anarbaeva, the former director, and Olga Narmuradova, the group's chief accountant – were found guilty on August 4 of engaging in improper activities, including the illegal production and distribution of video matter. However, the two were immediately amnestied, enabling them to avoid serving time in prison. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The presiding judge also denied an effort by prosecutors to close down the Internews Network's office in Tashkent, ruling that civil, not criminal courts had jurisdiction over the writ against the NGO. The trial was closed to outside observers. When delivering his verdict, Judge Nodir Akbarov accused Internews of "meddling" in Uzbek politics. Internews representatives denied any wrongdoing and insist the case was politically motivated.

In an interview with EurasiaNet, Joshua Machleder, Internews' regional director for Central Asia, indicated that the NGOs troubles in Uzbekistan were not necessarily over. Internews representatives believe that Uzbek authorities will pursue the case to close down the organization's Tashkent office. "We expect to get another writ from the district prosecutor soon," Machleder said.

Machleder characterized the convictions against Anarbaeva and Narmuradova as "a tactic" designed to "intimidate" the rest of the Internews staff. While glad that the two will not spend time in jail because of the amnesty, he noted that "they do get criminal records and it becomes much easier to convict them, should they be judged for crimes in the future."

Internews, an international non-governmental organization active in roughly 50 nations around the world, was instrumental in developing private regional broadcast media outlets in Uzbekistan, many of which offered news and views that differed from those presented by state-controlled television and radio stations. In recent years, as Islamic militancy and socio-economic discontent have been on the rise in the country, the Uzbek government has sought to crack down on international NGOs that engaged in activities designed to develop democratic institutions. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Accordingly, Internews has been embroiled in a variety of bureaucratic battles for much of the past 18 months. In June 2004, for example, a Tashkent judge ordered a six-month suspension of Internews' operations in Tashkent after state auditors alleged that the NGO had failed to comply with registration requirements.

In addition, Uzbek authorities have frozen Internews' bank account in Tashkent, bringing the NGO's activities to a "standstill," Machleder said. "Authorities have not given any official explanation for freezing Internews' bank account," Machleder said, adding that there has been "no response" from officials, despite numerous efforts to contact bank representatives and government officials.