ADDITIONAL DEUTSCHE WELLE REPORTERS FACING

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000792 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2017 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV GM UZ SUBJECT: ADDITIONAL DEUTSCHE WELLE REPORTERS FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES REF: A. 06 TASHKENT 532 ¶B. TASHKENT 496 Classified By: Ambassador Jon R. Purnell, for reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) Summary: The Tashkent City Prosecutor's Office has charged a second Deutsche Welle reporter, Yuri Chernogayev, with working without a license. This follows the prosecution of Deutsche Welle stringer Natalya Bushuyeva on the same charge, and for concealing her income. According to a German Embassy contact, Bushuyeva has fled to Bishkek and filed for asylum. Chernogayev told Poloff that a third Deutsche Welle reporter, Bukhara-based Obid Shabanov, has also been targeted by prosecutors. The pressures against Deutsche Welle stringers appear politically motivated and aimed at extinguishing the only remaining Western media outlet. The Uzbek government's actions do not fit its professed desire for a human rights dialogue with the German government and European Union. End summary. ¶2. (C) On March 27 the Tashkent City Prosecutor's Office charged Deutsche Welle reporter Yuri Chernogayev with "working without a license" under Article 190 of the criminal code. (Note: According to Chernogayev's lawyer, his Ministry of Foreign Affairs-issued accreditation expired in April ¶2006. End note). The authorities had also harassed Chernogayev in March 2006, warning him not to work with non-accredited journalists (ref A). Chernogayev told Poloff that Bukhara prosecutors have also targeted Deutsche Welle stringer Obid Shabanov, whose accreditation was revoked last year after he wrote a report about Uzbek migrant workers freezing to death on a bus headed to Russia (ref A). ¶3. (C) German Poloff Uwe Berndt told us that his government was working through diplomatic channels on the Chernogayev case, and would raise its concerns in the context of the European Union's human rights dialogue with Uzbekistan. Berndt added that the German government had covered some of Chernogayev's legal expenses. The pressures on Chernogayev and Shabanov follow the prosecution of Deutsche Welle stringer Natalya Bushuyeva, who was charged on March 23 with concealing her income and working as a reporter without accreditation (ref B). Berndt stated that Bushuyeva is now in Bishkek where she has registered as an asylum seeker. (Note: Dozens of other Uzbek journalists and human rights activist have also fled to Bishkek and Almaty since mid-2005, filing for refugee status through UNHCR. End note.) ¶4. (C) Comment: The pressures against Chernogayev and Shabanov appear politically motivated and intended to stifle independent voices and information. Following the closures of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, BBC World Service, and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Deutsche Welle's stringer network constituted the only remaining Western media outlet. Coming on the heels of Bushuyeva's prosecution, the charge against Chernogayev could further deter the German government-led European Union effort to build a human rights dialogue with Tashkent. PURNELL