Monday, May 20, 2013

News and Features from Central Asia

PHOTO GALLERY: A tour of the KarLAG

Photogallery In Kazakhstan, Spending Saturday Night In The Gulag

A museum of the Stalin-era prison camp system in central Kazakhstan has given visitors a night-time tour, where they were "treated" to prison meals and a performance of mock interrogations.
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Deputy Education Minister Sayat Shayakhmetov (center) in a public appearance from late April

Kazakh Deputy Minister Arrested

Kazakhstan's deputy education minister, Sayat Shayakhmetov, has been arrested and charged with embezzlement.
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Zaid Saidov is a businessman and former industry minister.

Former Tajik Industry Minister Arrested

Tajik businessman and former Industry Minister Zaid Saidov and several Tajik businessmen and academics had recently announced the creation of the New Tajikistan political party.
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Rovshen Yazmuhamedov

EU Raises Case Of RFE/RL Turkmen Correspondent

A European Union delegation has raised with Turkmen officials the case of a detained RFE/RL correspondent.
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Security Clampdown In Jalal-Abad After Ethnic Clash

Local police chief Malik Nurdinov told RFE/RL the clashes took place in the village of Safid-Bulan late on May 16.
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U.S. Police Arrest Uzbek In Terror Case

Prosecutors say 30-year-old Fazliddin Kurbanov was arrested in the city of Boise on May 15 as part of a terrorism investigation.
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Playing with fire? The stage for the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest is unveiled during a news conference at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden on May 2.

Sweden Plays Eurovision Host, With Main Sponsor Mired In Scandal

The multinational musical glitzfest known as Eurovision holds its final in Sweden. But the main sponsor of this year's contest raises eyebrows for its ties to human rights abuses in the former Soviet Union.
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Alleged Leader Of Banned Islamic Group's Cell Arrested In Bishkek

The suspected leader of an underground cell of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic group has been arrested in Bishkek.
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The Chinese Kaidi company

Chinese Mining Company Operations In Kyrgyzstan Blocked By Protesters

Operations by the Chinese gold mining company Kaidi have been blocked by hundreds of protesters in Kyrgyzstan's southern Chon-Alai district.
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Russian nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky

Kyrgyzstan Bans Zhirinovsky

Kyrgyzstan’s parliament has declared Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky persona non grata and banned him from entering the country.
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