As reported in RNW’s Weblog, the Uzbek General Prosecutors Office has opened criminal proceedings against a reporter working for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle in the Central Asian state, her lawyer said Monday. Uzbekistan has taken an increasingly tough line with foreign media since they reported eyewitness accounts of troops opening fire on a crowd in the town of Andizhan last year, killing hundreds of civilians.
Natalia Bushuyeva, an Uzbek citizen working for Deutsche Welle, is
accused of operating without a journalistic licence and tax evasion, her lawyer, Sukhrob Ismalov, told Reuters. He said she could face up to
three years in jail.
Following the Andizhan events, which led to European Union sanctions
against Uzbekistan and criticism from former ally Washington, Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty had its permission to operate in Uzbekistan
revoked. The BBC World Service, which has an Uzbek-language service,
also closed its Tashkent bureau, citing official harassment. Last year,
Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry cancelled the accreditation of another
Deutsche Welle reporter in Uzbekistan. Bushuyeva’s own accreditation
expired in 2005.