RFE/RL CENTRAL ASIA REPORT
12/19/2011 6:22:22 PM
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the five countries of Central Asia.For more stories on Central Asia, please visit and bookmark our Central Asia page . |
 Kazakh Activist Jailed For Protesting Deadly Clashes A Kazakh opposition activist has been jailed for 15 days for protesting against violence that claimed at least 14 lives in the country's western oil-producing region. More  Kazakh Clampdown In Unruly West With unrest already spreading and a state of emergency in effect, authorities in western Kazakhstan have imposed restrictions that make it difficult to assess the risk of further bloodshed.More  Kazakh Strike Violence Spreads Hundreds have gathered in the western Kazakh city of Aqtau to support striking oil workers in the nearby town of Zhanaozen, where at least 11 people have been killed in violent clashes between the strikers and police. More  Emergency Imposed In Kazakhstan Kazakhstan's president has issued a decree enforcing a state of emergency and a curfew in Zhanaozen, a western Kazakh town where at least 11 people were shot dead amid a protest by striking oil workers on December 16. More  Former Turkmen Official Under Pressure Former Turkmen Culture and Tourism Minister Geldimurat Nurmuhammedov, 59, is under pressure after talking to RFE/RL last week. More  Kyrgyz Inmate Families Stage Protest More than 50 relatives of hunger-striking Kyrgyz prisoners have picketed the Kyrgyz State Committee to Monitor Penitentiaries (KUIS) in Bishkek to demand the resignation of its chairman.More  Kazakh Oil City Clash Turns Deadly Kazakh authorities say 10 people have been killed as striking oil workers clashed with government forces in the country's western Manghystau region. More  Former Kyrgyz Official In Custody The former chief of the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security (UKMK) has been taken into custody after he unexpectedly showed up in court where he was being tried in absentiaMore  Protests Held For Kyrgyz Inmates Some 30 relatives of Kyrgyz inmates on hunger strike picketed a pretrial detention center in Bishkek on December 15 to demand the prisoners' demands be met, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Tajiks Give Murder Suspects To Kyrgyz Tajik authorities have extradited two Kyrgyz citizens suspected in the killing of a top Kyrgyz official. More  Kazakhs Jailed On Terrorism Charges Twelve men have been jailed for up to 15 years by a court in northwestern Kazakhstan after being called "associates of Kazakhstan's first-ever suicide bomber." More Kyrgyz Ex-Official Makes Surprise Court Appearance The former chief of the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security has been put under house arrest in Bishkek after he unexpectedly showed up in court where he was being tried in absentia. More  Turkmen Army Deserters Detained Two Turkmen soldiers have been detained near the capital, Ashgabat, after deserting their military unit the previous day with their weapons. More  Kazakhs Get Shares In Oil And Gas Field Kazakhstan has worked out a deal to acquire 10 percent of the Karachaganak oil and gas field, the last major oil and gas field in Kazakhstan that did not have any Kazakh shareholders.More  Osh Protesters Disperse Former Kyrgyz parliament speaker Akhmatbek Keldibekov has persuaded several hundred of his supporters to end their protest in the southern city of Osh. More  Train Blockade Risks Tajik Food Dearth The head of the UN's World Food Program (WFP) office in Tajikistan says Uzbekistan's decision to block rail traffic to Tajikistan threatens to create severe food shortages. More  UN: Torture Still Used By Kyrgyz Police The UN's special rapporteur on torture has said in Bishkek that police, investigators, and prison guards in Kyrgyzstan still use torture during interrogations. More  Kyrgyz Prisoners On Hunger Strike Hundreds of inmates in seven Kyrgyz prisons started a hunger strike today to demand better living conditions and meals. More  Kazakh Students Win Fight Against Hijab Ban Officials at a university in northwestern Kazakhstan have lifted a hijab ban for students after eight female students threatened to sue the school. More  HRW Scathing On Uzbek Abuses Human Rights Watch has leveled sharp criticism at Uzbekistan over its rights record and chided Western governments for turning a blind eye to such abuses in an effort to foster closer ties with the administration of President Islam Karimov. More  Alleged Crime Ties Doom Kyrgyz Speaker The chairman of a parliamentary commission that investigated speaker Akhmatbek Keldibekov told RFE/RL that the probe had revealed evidence that advisers and assistants appointed by Keldibekov had connections to Kyrgyz criminal groups. More  Kyrgyz Protests Over Parliament Speaker Some 1,000 protesters have picketed the Osh mayor's office in southern Kyrgyzstan to demand that it stop "blackmailing" parliament speaker Akmatbek Keldibekov over alleged criminal links. More |
