A court in Uzbekistan has sentenced 22 people, including a journalist, to various prison terms over deadly unrest in the autonomous Karakalpakstan republic last July.
Twenty-one people were killed in the protests, which were triggered by plans to curtail the province’s autonomy. The aftermath of the violence presented a dilemma for Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on whether to reinforce the authority of his government or to soften its stance in line with the more liberal image he has long sought to present to the West.
President Mirziyoyev has pushed through significant economic and social reforms, but his government is accused by rights groups of trampling on people’s basic rights. In early November, Human Rights Watch said the authorities “unjustifiably used lethal force … to disperse mainly peaceful demonstrators” after verifying dozens of videos and photos of the protests and victims.
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