Press Releases

July 1, 2026 On the fourth anniversary of the July 2022 crackdown in Nukus, Via Serica brought the unresolved human rights crisis in Karakalpakstan to an international policy audience through an article published in The Diplomat. The article examines the push in Washington to grant Uzbekistan Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) and asks whether deeper economic engagement should proceed without meaningful accountability for serious human rights abuses in Karakalpakstan. Vi

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND | APRIL 21–22, 2026 Via Serica brought the human rights concerns of the Karakalpak people directly before the United Nations during the 117th Session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and its review of Uzbekistan. Ahead of the review, Via Serica submitted a comprehensive civil society shadow report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, documenting serious concerns affecting the Karakalpak peop

Via Serica Brings Karakalpakstan's Human Rights Crisis Before U.S. Congress Washington, D.C. | July 22, 2026 Via Serica presented testimony at a briefing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress on the human rights crisis facing the Karakalpak people. The briefing, centered on Central Asia: Political Prisoners and Ongoing Human Rights Abuses, was hosted by Commission Co-Chairs Rep. James P. McGovern and Rep. Chris Smith. Via Serica President Gulya Nur jo

October 1, 2026 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Via Serica Foundation welcomes a letter sent by U.S. Congressman James P. McGovern to Uzbekistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bakhtiyor Saidov, raising serious concerns about the imprisonment and treatment of Karakalpak lawyer, journalist, and human rights defender Dauletmurat Tajimuratov. The October 1 letter comes amid renewed concerns about Tajimuratov’s safety and conditions in detention, including allegations of beatings, denial of ad

Washington DC - May 20, 2026. Via Serica expresses deep concern over the sudden denial of entry and deportation of Steve Swerdlow, a longtime Central Asia scholar, human rights advocate, Board Member of Via Serica, and Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights at the University of Southern California (USC), upon his arrival in Kyrgyzstan on May 19. Swerdlow arrived at Bishkek airport at approximately 4:30 a.m. leading a group of 16 USC students for a month-long educ

Washington DC, January 2026 Via Serica expresses grave alarm over escalating and credible reports of torture, ill-treatment, and retaliation against Dauletmurat Tajimuratov, a Karakalpak political prisoner, human rights defender, and national hero, currently held in Penal Colony No. 11 (KIN-11) in Navoi region, Uzbekistan. These concerns are reinforced by a public statement issued by Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, who reiterated

Following the newly released Opinion 62/2024 of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UN WGAD), Uzbek authorities must...