The Uzbek blogger Fatima Jurayeva was allegedly beaten while investigating the state electricity company
In Uzbekistan's eastern Andijon region, the chief accountant at the Ulug'nor district office of the state-owned electricity company Hududiy Elektr Tarmoqlari allegedly beat blogger Fatima Jurayeva when she tried to question him about alleged artificial increases to farmers' utility bills, according to news reports, a video the blogger posted on Facebook.
During the attack, Saidullo Mamadaliyev allegedly struck Jurayeva in the face, threw her to the ground, kicked her, and grabbed and smashed her phone.
According to a spokesperson for the prosecutor general's office, police have opened a criminal case against Mamadaliyev over the incident.
Murayeva went to the Ulug'nor district electricity office with two women farmers she believed were being charged extra surcharges. According to her, since the farmers received state subsidies for electricity, it could be considered theft of state funds. The office's manager had informed Jurayeva the documents she had requested would be available that day. When she arrived, however, Mamadaliyev refused to provide any documents or answer any questions, according to Jurayeva.
Using the phone of one of the farmers who remained in the room, Jurayeva called the police. Accounting and management staff, along with three other office workers who had been present but didn't intervene during the attack, began to push Jurayeva and the women farmers toward the exit. Jurayeva said that she again began to film when Mamadaliyev took the phone and repeatedly stamped on it, smashing it.
Jurayeva was taken to a hospital by police officers who arrived at the scene. She received stitches for a split eyebrow and received treatment for concussion and bruising. Jurayeva's police forensic medical examination concluded that her injuries were unlikely to have been self-inflicted or caused by a fall.
Jurayeva, who has been blogging since 2012, investigates complaints of corruption and other injustices on her Facebook page, where she has more than 10,600 followers. Jurayeva was named third place nationwide for her anti-corruption work on social media in the Anti-Corruption Agency's Public Council.
She says she is afraid she would have been killed for exposing the wider corruption scheme at the electricity office if not for her call to the police.
* This article contained information that was sourced from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
