ETHNIC UZBEK JOURNALIST SLAIN IN KYRGYZSTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 001320 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL KG SUBJECT: ETHNIC UZBEK JOURNALIST SLAIN IN KYRGYZSTAN BISHKEK 00001320 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: DCM Lee Litzenberger, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Outspoken ethnic Uzbek/Kyrgyz national journalist Alisher Saipov was shot and killed outside his office in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, early evening October 24. Saipov was editor-in-chief of the Uzbek-language newspaper, Siyosat (Politics),and he served as a stringer for Voice of America and contributed to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, BBC, and the Ferghana.ru news service. Saipov reported primarily on events in Uzbekistan, and he openly opposed the Karimov regime. Local press reports speculate that Uzbek security services were behind the slaying. Osh Oblast Governor Jantoro Satybaldiyev has urged residents to remain calm and not turn the slaying into a "political issue." President Bakiyev has dispatched Omurbek Suvanaliyev, head of the Defense and Security Department at the Presidency, to lead the investigation. END SUMMARY. Saipov Shot on the Street -------------- ¶2. (U) Alisher Saipov, 26, editor-in-chief of the Uzbek-language Siyosat newspaper published in Kyrgyzstan, was shot and killed in Osh on October 24. He was reportedly shot three times just after 7:00 pm, as he left his office. According to press reports, the gunmen fled in a waiting automobile. ¶3. (C) Saipov co-founded Siyosat in January 2006. Saipov's Valley Media Group received a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy in 2007 to support the newspaper as an alternative source of news for readers in the Ferghana Valley, both inside and outside Uzbekistan. The paper is printed at the Media Support Center Foundation printing press in Bishkek, which was established by Freedom House with a DRL grant. In addition to his work at Siyosat, Saipov served as a stringer for Voice of America, and he contributed to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, BBC, and Ferghana.ru. Critical of Karimov -------------- ¶4. (C) Saipov was openly and vehemently critical of the Karimov regime in Uzbekistan. A BBC Central Asia correspondent reported that most recent issues of Siyosat focused attention on the upcoming presidential elections in Uzbekistan and the developing "climate of fear." Saipov blamed the Uzbek Security Services for the disappearance of refugees who fled the country after the Andijon events in May ¶2005. Saipov had also interviewed and reported on members of extremist groups, including the IMU and Hizb-ut Tahrir. Speculation of Uzbek Involvement -------------- ¶5. (C) Local press and blogs speculate that Uzbek Security Services were behind the slaying. Days before his death, Saipov reported to colleagues and friends that he thought he was being followed by the Uzbek authorities. Ferghana.ru reported that Saipov also had been informed that there was a ten thousand dollar bounty on his head, but it was unclear who put out the bounty. ¶6. (C) A pro-Uzbek government website, SNGnews.ru, has already come out on the offensive, attacking Saipov as an anti-Uzbekistan "rogue" journalist and linking him to the U.S. government. The article states that Western organizations fund Saipov's newspaper and claims that the Department of State is the "brain" behind Siyosat. It also acknowledges that the paper is printed at the "American printing house." The article links Saipov with Muhammad Salih, exiled leader of the Uzbek political party Erk, and Alisher Khamidov, a Central Asian expert on Islam and close contact to "high officials" at the Department of State. The BISHKEK 00001320 002.2 OF 002 article alleges that Saipov was frequently called into the embassy to receive "taskings to conduct research," all of which were "financed by Congress." Kyrgyz Launch Investigation -------------- ¶7. (C) Following Saipov's funeral earlier today, journalists marched to the Kyrgyz State Security (GKNB) headquarters in Osh, carrying signs and demanding a full investigation. Osh Oblast Governor Jantoro Satybaldiyev has urged residents to remain calm and not turn the slaying into a "political issue." President Bakiyev has dispatched Omurbek Suvanaliyev, head of the Defense and Security Department at the Presidency, to lead the investigation. Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) Saipov reportedly believed that he was safe to operate in Kyrgyzstan. His tragic death will undoubtedly alarm other critics of the Karimov regime resident in Kyrgyzstan. This unprecedented assassination of a journalist in Kyrgyzstan is potentially embarrassing to the Kyrgyz government, especially if it is believed that the assassination was carried out by a foreign security service. Given Osh's heavily ethnic Uzbek population, Kyrgyz authorities are concerned about the slaying becoming a political issue. ¶9. (U) The Embassy issued the following public statement: "The Embassy of the United States condemns the murder of Alisher Saipov. We urge an immediate and thorough investigation into this terrible act. The people responsible for this killing must be found and brought to justice. Journalists and their independent reporting are the bedrock of a free and open society, and any attempt to intimidate them or silence their voices can not be tolerated. Our condolences go out to his wife and child." YOVANOVITCH