Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Central Asia Report 22.10.2012 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 . How WELL Have You Been Following Events? FIND OUT BY TAKING OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ!

 

Kyrgyz Protests Target Chinese Gold Mine More than 200 people have rallied in Kyrgyzstan's northern Kemin district to demand the closure of a Chinese gold-mining company's operations in the region. More   Uzbek Film Industry Blossoms, But Quality Takes A Hit The rise of cheap technology over the past decade has helped revive Uzbekistan's film industry. But while the successes are hard to ignore, some wonder if quantity has not come at the expense of quality. More   Manual For Migrants Raises Hackles In St. Petersburg A new manual designed to help migrants from Central Asia has caused a storm in Russia's second city because of its apparent racist content. More   Details Emerge Of U.S. Charges Against Maksim Bakiev The United States wants Maksim Bakiev, the son of Kyrgyzstan's deposed president, extradited from Britain to face charges of insider stock trading. More details about the charges are emerging. More   Maksim Bakiev's Son's Partner Arrested A former business partner of Kyrgyzstan's ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiev's son has been arrested in Rome, Italy. More   Kyrgyz Opposition Leader Hospitalized Jailed Kyrgyz opposition leader Kamchybek Tashiev has been brought to a penitentiary hospital after he felt unwell while on hunger strike. More   Move To Toughen Kyrgyz Bride-Snatching Laws Gains Momentum What's worse, livestock theft or bride kidnapping? In Kyrgyzstan, someone who steals a cow could go to prison for up to 11 years. But men who kidnap underage girls and force them into marriage run little risk of prosecution -- although current legislation does provide for a three-year sentence. That may be about to change -- at least a little bit. More   Kazakh School's HIV Expulsions Probed A local prosecutor's office has started investigating officials at a secondary school in Kazakhstan’s southern city of Shymkent because of the principal’s decision to expel two children after learning that they are HIV-positive. More   Survivor Of Kazakh Special Op On Trial The sole survivor targeted by a special operation in Kazakhstan’s northwestern city of Aqtobe in June has gone on trial in connection with a police slaying. More   Kyrgyz To Toughen Bride-Snatching Law Kyrgyz lawmakers have passed a bill in its second reading to increase the maximum jail term for bride kidnapping from three to 10 years. More   European Envoys Visit Troubled Tajik Area A group of European ambassadors in Dushanbe visited Tajikistan's eastern region of Gorno-Badakhshan, the scene of a recent bloody military operation. More   Kyrgyz Rally Against Bride Snatching Some 30 Kyrgyz human rights activists have picketed the parliament building in Bishkek, demanding tougher punishment for bride snatching. More   Tajik Students Ban On International Seminars Tajikistan's Education Ministry has instructed the heads of all universities in the country to ban students from attending seminars, workshops, and other gatherings organized by foreign and international groups. More   Kyrgyz Court Upholds Pretrial Arrests The Bishkek City Court has upheld the two-month pretrial detention of three opposition members of parliament. More   Tajik Islamic Party Claims Growing Support The chairman of Tajikistan's opposition Islamic Renaissance Party says that public support has increased in the wake of this summer's military operations in Gorno-Badakhshan province. More   Tajik Torture Claims Put Prisons Under Scrutiny The head of Tajikistan's penitentiary system has been forced on the defensive following some incendiary allegations concerning the use of torture in the country's prisons. More   ECO Leaders Gather In Baku Members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) have met in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to discuss a wide range of regional issues. More   Clemency Discussed For Kyrgyz MP Trio Kyrgyzstan's government ombudsman says President Amazbek Atambaev has expressed a willingness to consider clemency for three opposition lawmakers at the center of continuing protests. More   Medvedeva Gets Turkmen State Honor Turkmenistan has bestowed a prestigious state award – the Ruhubelent Order -- on the wife of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, saying she has helped improve ties between the two countries. More   Doctor Sets Out To Divorce Infertility From Tajik Cultural Taboos When a marriage fails to produce babies in Tajikistan, the woman usually takes the blame and divorce often follows. But now a Tajik doctor has taken on the task of informing men that they, too, can be infertile, and that early treatment can often solve the problem. More   Anthropologist: Uzbeks' Model For Life In Kyrgyzstan Destroyed When Kyrgyzstan transitioned from a Soviet republic to an independent state in 1991, ethnic Uzbeks living within its borders saw their home soil become suddenly more foreign. More   Maksim Bakiev Released On Bail Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry officials say that former President Kurmanbek Bakiev's son, who was arrested in London on October 12, has been released on bail. More