Uzbekistan has blacklisted a further 103 films, including the 'Fifty Shades' trilogy and horror flicks such as It and Leatherface.
Read More »Uzbekistan: Singer’s performance license revoked
On 27 June 2018, popular Uzbekistan singer Ulugbek Rakhmatullayev's performance license was revoked by state institution Uzbekkontsert.
Read More »Uzbekistan: Suspended artists and instrument bans
Ever-tightening restrictions on musicians and artists continue to take their toll in Uzbekistan as state-run arts association Uzbeknavo revoked the licenses of three pop artists for holding performances abroad to lacklustre audience numbers, reported Uzbek news outlet UZ24 on 20 July 2016. Uzbeknavo license department head Odiljon Abdukahhar said the …
Read More »Uzbekistan: The naked truth about state censorship
The Uzbekistan government tightens its control over the arts, prohibiting anything that is believed to threaten national values – including 700 films which have been banned, and musicians who have their performing licenses withdrawn. Censorship was a key instrument for controlling the masses during Soviet times. These days Uzbekistan’s ageing …
Read More »Uzbekistan: Musicians regulated to conform to ‘national values’
Uzbekistan’s government has ordered the state agency in charge of giving licenses to performers to tighten conditions under which they are granted, citing a plethora of pop songs, videos and concerts that fail to conform to the “country’s spiritual, cultural and national values”, according to Transition Online and BBC News …
Read More »Uzbekistan: Singer speaks out on oppression in atmosphere of dissent
On 1 May 2014, tweeting in both Uzbek and Russian, singer Ozoda Saidzoda appeared to lay the blame for her career setback squarely at the door of the country’s prime minister, Shavkat Mirziyaev Ozoda later elaborated on her tweets in an exclusive interview with RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, claiming she has …
Read More »Artist Alert: February 2014 | Article 19
Newsletter from Article 19, published on article19.org on 14 March 2014: Art, in any form, constitutes a key medium through which information and ideas are imparted and received. Artist Alert, launched by ARTICLE 19 in 2008, highlights cases of artists around the world whose right to freedom of expression has …
Read More »Uzbekistan: Pop stars banned from stage for ‘meaningless’ songs
President Islam Karimov’s government strictly regulates the lucrative entertainment industry in the Central Asian nation of 30 million by banning films, pop music and books, reported RIA Novost Singers Dilfuza Rakhimova, Otabek Mutalhozhaev and Dilshod Rakhmonov, along with groups Ummon and Mango, found themselves out in the cold after the …
Read More »Artist Alert: July 2013 | Article 19
Newsletter from Article 19, published on article19.org on 14 August 2013: Art, in any form, constitutes a key medium through which information and ideas are imparted and received. Artist Alert, launched by ARTICLE 19 in 2008, highlights cases of artists around the world whose right to freedom of expression has …
Read More »Uzbekistan: Music video blacklisted with “strong suggestion” from security services
Uzbek pop stars sing about the forbidden. Homosexuality, currently banned in Uzbekistan, is finding its way into performances by pop musicians. In 2012, Azlar became famous – and banned – in Uzbekistan for a song about this topic, and now, the musician Asal Choi (“Honey Tea”) is stirring up controversy …
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