Karayev, Tulkin
Who, Why and How exiled: Tulkin Karayev was a correspondent for the London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), arrested on charges of hooliganism. He was one of the few independent journalists who covered the May 13 unrest in the northeast city of Andean, during which security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters, killing 500 civilians, according to international press and human rights reports. Uzbek authorities claim that less than 200 people were killed (CPJ, 2005).
Stage 1 details (accusations/ charges/ Interpol notice/ extradition requests): Saturday, June 4, 2005 an unknown woman attacked Karayev and human rights activist Gaybulla Djalilov, who was accompanying him, on the street in downtown Karshi, according to local press reports. When Karayev went to the local police station in Karshi to report the incident, he discovered that his female attacker had already declared herself the victim of the attack. The local police charged Karayev with hooliganism ( CPJ, 2005). Before the incident, Karayev had complained of an increased surveillance of his apartment by security services. He also said that security service agents had approached his family and friends (CPJ, 2005).
Stage 2 details (arrest/ detention/ extradition): Without due process, police detained Karayev and arrested him on charges of hooliganism. A local court then sentenced the journalist to 10 days in prison, IWPR reported. After his release, the authorities pressured Karaev to cease working as a journalist, saying, “If you continue your journalism work we will sentence you to prison for three years" ( Denber, 2005). After his release from detention he fled from Uzbekistan and remains in hiding (Denber, 2005, p. 33).
Other actions during Stages 1–3 (dispossession/ overseas assets frozen/ intimidation/ action against associates/ …): In 2013, Kudratbek Rasulov, a 43-year old Namangan resident, faces up to eight years behind bars for holding a conversation over Skype with two exiled government opponents – journalist Tulkin Karayev and Erk opposition party leader Mukhammad Solikh, according to the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan ( Ferghana news, 2013).
Current status: He is in exile in Sweden (RFE/RL, 2016).
Press sources: CPJ, 2005. 'Journalist arrested in southern Uzbekistan'. June 7, 2005. [Online]. Available at: https://cpj.org/2005/06/journalist-arrested-in-southern-uzbekistan.php Denber, R. 2005. 'Burying the Truth: Uzbekistan Rewrites the Story of the Andijan Massacre'. Human Rights Watch Organisation. Vol.17, No. 6 Ferghana news, 2013. 'Uzbekistan: Namangan Resident Faces 8 Years in Jail for Skype Call with Political Exiles'. 23 December, 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://enews.fergananews.com/news.php?id=2786 RFE/RL, 2016. 'Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan Said To Be Hacking, Spying On Dissidents'. 3 August, 2016. [Online]. Available at: https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-kazakhstan-said-hacking-spying-dissidents/27897226.html