Ulugbek Haidarov, a journalist and human rights activist, was severely beaten on 23 April in the Jizzakh region, central Uzbekistan.

According to IPI’s information, an unidentified assailant was waiting for Haidarov outside his home on the evening of 23 April. During the attack one of Haidarov’s collar-bones was broken and he was later hospitalised. Haidarov told the media that the attacker hit him in the face, and then kicked him when he fell to the ground. The attacker reportedly told the journalist “I will show you how to write”.

Police in Jizzakh are currently investigating the attack, and have several possible motives. The journalist said that he believes the attack was directly related to his publications on the Internet about the situation in the region. Apparently, Haidarov has been warned to stop his critical reporting or face retaliation.

Recently, fergana.ru published several articles by Haidarov that were critical of the governor of the Jizzakh region, Ubadulla Yamankulov, and the Jizzakh regional hokimiyat (“local government”). According to the journalist, his sources in the hokimiyat told him that Yamankulov was displeased with Haidarov’s reporting, and that the journalist should refrain from writing for about two months. Haidarov is also the district head of the Ezgulik (“Kindness”) human rights group.

According to reports, the Uzbekistan Ministry of Internal Affairs has drawn up a “black list” of journalists, which was circulated on the Internet. Haidarov, is reportedly on that list. However, the Ministry denies that such a list exists.

Other journalists have also been under intense pressure in Uzbekistan. Hurriyat weekly journalist Sobirdjon Yakubov was detained on suspicion of religious extremism on 11 April in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It is believed that he is also on the “black list”.

Djamshid Karimov, a reporter with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), was attacked by two unidentified men on the porch of his house in Jizzakh on 21 December 2004. Karimov is President Islam Karimov’s nephew. He has been critical of the authorities and written extensively on human rights and social issues.

IPI Director Johann Fritz condemned the attack on Haidarov. “Physical attacks on journalists are unacceptable. Journalists must be able to report without fear of harassment and intimidation after every critical article.”

Fritz went on to say, “This is not the first time a journalist has been harassed in Uzbekistan and, while we welcome positive developments such as the July 2004 release of journalist and human rights activist Ruslan Sharipov, IPI hopes that the Uzbek authorities will work to make Uzbekistan a safer place for journalists to practice their profession. All of these attacks show that Uzbekistan remains an extremely dangerous place to be a journalist.”