Uzbekistan Releases Journalist After 19 Years in Prison

Today, I got a Skype message I will treasure: the government of Uzbekistan has finally released journalist Yusuf Ruzimuradov after 19 long years in jail. Expand Yusuf Ruzimuradov in an undated photo.  © Muhammad Bekjanov You may never have heard of him, but by our count, Ruzimuradov, 64, was one of the world’s longest imprisoned journalists. His crime? Working for an independent newspaper, Erk, or Freedom. Ruzimuradov, like many others perceived by the Uzbekistan government to be critics, was convicted with his editor, Muhammad Bekjanov, on charges of publishing and distributing a banned…

© Human Rights Watch - vendredi 2 mars 2018