Russian journalist Alexey Pivovarov, his film crew and a reporter for Uzbekistan-based internet publication Hook Feride Makhsetova were detained in Nukus on Sunday, Hook reported.
Karakalpakstan regional department of the Agency of Information and Mass Communications under the president of Uzbekistan issued the following statement:
“A preliminary investigation revealed that the foreign journalists worked without prior accreditation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which is a violation of the current legislation.”
“The detained are currently at Nukus Department of Internal Affairs, where all circumstances of the incident are being investigated,” the statement added.
At approximately 9:30 PM Alexey Pivovarov updated his Telegram channel, saying:
“As I mentioned earlier, we are currently in Uzbekistan. While in Nukus, we were invited for a conversation by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We talked, explained our work and plans, and the officers were polite and respectful. We are now on our way to other places. Everything is fine!”
Alexey Pivovarov is a prominent TV journalist known for his work with NTV and other channels. In recent years, he has run the YouTube channel Redaktsiya (Editorial), which has published popular programs on various countries, including post-Soviet ones (one of his latest programs was about Kazakhstan).
Pivovarov announced his visit to Uzbekistan in late November, stating that his team was filming the cotton yarn production process. Before Nukus, the group visited Samarkand and Tashkent.
Photo: t.me/Alexey_Pivo_varov.
Hook’s chief editor Yana Modelova told Gazeta.uz that Feride Makhsedova was with Pivovarov’s team in a personal capacity, not on assignment for the publication.
According to the Main Rules Regulating Professional Activities of Foreign Media Correspondents in Uzbekistan, adopted by the government in 2006, foreign journalists can only work in the country after receiving accreditation from the Foreign Ministry.
