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Outlook: The man who stole the president's secrets

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Bobomurod Abdullayev (credit: Bobomurod Abdullayev)

22/06/2019 GMT

The man who stole the president's secrets

BBC World Service - Outlook, The man who stole the president's secrets

One writer risked prison to leak material about Uzbekistan's authoritarian former leader

Journalist Bobomurod Abdulla risked everything when he started leaking secret information about Uzbekistan's former leader Islam Karimov.

For many years, Uzbekistan was a particularly dangerous place to be a journalist. Speaking out against the government of former president Islam Karimov could lead to torture and a lengthy spell in prison. So it was a surprise for many when in 2004 secret messages started appearing online, containing what seemed like detailed and scandalous information about the president's household. For years, the identity of the writer was kept a secret, and the messages kept coming. Then one day, an inconspicuous football writer called Bobomurod Abdulla was snatched off the streets by the security forces, and the secret was finally out.

Image and credit: Bobomurod Abdulla

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