CONTACT REPORTEDLY FIRED AFTER MEETING POLOFF

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 001752

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV UZ
SUBJECT: CONTACT REPORTEDLY FIRED AFTER MEETING POLOFF

REF: TASHKENT 1661

Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) During an Embassy event on October 9, journalist and
human rights contact Bakhodir Elibaev (strictly protect) told
poloff that he was fired from his job as a translator at a
Turkish firm shortly after meeting with poloff on September

13. Elibaev continues to work informally as a stringer for
Tashkent-based human rights activist Surat Ikramov, reporting
on human rights and other issues in the Ferghana Valley, and
has recently been awarded a grant from post's Democracy
Commission.


2. (C) Poloff met Elibaev for the first time at his house in
the town of Rishton during a trip through the Ferghana Valley
in mid-September to investigate reports of rising prices for
basic staples and demonstrations (reftel). During their
meeting, Elibaev told poloff that he was contacted by the
National Security Service (NSS) on September 12 and asked why
he was going to meet with poloff. Elibaev believed that the
NSS had learned about the meeting from listening to earlier
phone conversations between Elibaev and poloff. On October
9, Elibaev told poloff that the day after their meeting in
September, NSS officers visited his house and asked him and
his family about their conversations with poloff. Elibaev
said that a few days later, the NSS also called the Turkish
company, which is currently constructing a new factory to
process silk on the outskirts of Rishton, and pressured them
to let go of Elibaev, who had worked at the company since
February.


3. (C) Despite being a breadwinner for his family, Elibaev
did not appear to be too upset at losing his job. He noted
that his application to monitor violations of basic social,
economic and civil rights in the Ferghana Valley had been
recently accepted by post's Democracy Commission, and he
expected to be able to live off the salary provided for in
the grant for the next several months. Elibaev is also
occasionally paid for writing articles on human rights issues
for Surat Ikramov's NGO, the Initiative Group of Independent
Human Rights Defenders of Uzbekistan.


4. (C) This has not been the first time Elibaev has been
fired for his human rights and journalistic activities.
During their meeting on September 13, Elibaev told poloff
that he had been fired from three newspapers for articles
that he had written, and another two newspapers that he tried
to open himself were shut down after just a few issues. He
said that he has tried unsuccessfully to find work as a
journalist with local papers in the Ferghana Valley and
believes that he has been blacklisted. Elibaev graduated
from the World Language Institute in Tashkent with a degree
in journalism in 2003 and speaks passable English.


5. (C) Comment: Elibaev's firing is just the latest example
of recent government efforts to apply pressure on individuals
who agree to meet with Embassy poloffs. We are concerned
with how our contacts are treated, but we will not be
deterred from maintaining a broad base of people with whom we
stay in touch and will continue to report on any harassment
they experience.
NORLAND