Uzbekistan: Journalist Lolagul Kallykhanova Detained For Covering Protests In Karakalpakstan
Location: Uzbekistan, TashkentDate: July 14, 2022
Journalist Lolagul Kallykhanova has been kept by authorities after covering protests in the Karakalpakstan region. The journalist has been restricted to see her family and an independent lawyer. The details of the charges against her have yet to be disclosed. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns the media crackdown on the protests in the region and demands the immediate release of Lolagul.
On July 1, Lolagul Kallykhanova, who runs the independent news outlet Makan.uz and its Telegram channel, was reportedly detained after posting a video about Karakalpakstan's status amid constitutional changes that would prevent the region from holding an independence referendum. On the Telegram channel of the news outlet which has almost 85,000 followers, the video was deleted.
According to independent regional news outlet Eurasianet, Lolagul was detained by security forces and her whereabouts have not been disclosed. The independent news outlet reported that Lolagul’s sister lost contact with her on July 2.
However, the state-owned channel, Karakalpak 24 reported that the journalist’s family informed that Lolagul was fine without providing further details, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The Uzbek prosecutor's office posted on Telegram on 8 July that the journalist has been held because of “indications of crimes threatening public security”, according to Reporters Without Borders. In the statement, 14 people including Lolagul were taken to custody for “endangering constitutional order” in connection with the “riots” in Karakalpakstan.
The rallies in Karakalpakstan broke out after Tashkent proposed a package of amendments to the Uzbek Constitution that would effectively abolish the autonomous region's right to secede.
On the other hand, Joanna Lillis, an independent British journalist who contributes to various outlets such as The Economist and Eurasianet, was briefly detained and interrogated while reporting in Nukus, Karakalpakstan’s capital on July 4. Despite her documents, police forced Joanna to delete pictures and videos of the interviews she did with local people.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism denounces the detention of Lolagul. We demand that Uzbek authorities disclose her whereabouts and allow her to contact her family and lawyer. The authorities must release the journalist who solely does her job. The journalists must report freely without facing censorship or crackdown.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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