BBC News In Pictures: Negative images of Uzbekistan?

The prominent photographer and documentary filmmaker Umida Ahmedovaof was found guilty on Wednesday 10th February 2010 of "slander and insult" for recording people's lives in Uzbekistan.

Umida Ahmedova was found guilty as charged by the Mirabad district court in Tashkent city on Wednesday, but at the same time pardoned by the presiding judge.

The charges were based on the content of some of Umida Ahmedova’s photographs and film projects which were interpreted by the Uzbekistani authorities as slandering and insulting the Uzbekistani people and their traditions.

A researcher for Amnesty International commented on the results saying "While Umida Akhmedova was not jailed today she was nevertheless convicted simply for exercising her right to freedom of expression,"

"This conviction remains even if she has been pardoned and is at liberty. She now has a criminal record."

Read Umida Ahmedova's story below

The BBC News in Pictures this week features pictures taken by Uzbek photographer Umida Akhmedova.

The photographs show simple everyday life but have caused outrage within the Uzbek authorities who say they give a negative image of the country. The punishment for the charges of defamation and insulting Uzbek traditions is 6 months in jail or up to 3 years hard labour.

READ THE FULL IAAC APPEAL IN DEFENSE OF UMIDA AHMEDOVA HERE AND SIGN THE OPEN APPEAL

See the photographs on the BBC and make your own mind up

The International Association of Art Critics (IAAC) is running an open appeal in defense of photographer and documentary film maker Umida Ahmedova.

The appeal (see below), signed by nearly 1000 writers, artists, academicians and journalists from over a dozen countries, is addressed to Uzbekistan's Interior and Foreign ministries, foreign governments and international human rights groups, and calls on Uzbek authorities to respect the country's laws and the universal right to freedom of expression.

Att.: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Uzbekistan, Ministry of Interior, Republic of Uzbekistan, International Organizations involved with Human Rights Protection On December 17th, 2009 several informational agencies reported about the agitation regarding the criminal case against one of the most well-known Central Asian photographers, Umida Ahmedova.

According to the disseminated information, Umida Ahmedova is accused of “insult and slander of the Uzbek nation”. Reason of the presented accusation is a photo album, “Women and Men: From Sunrise to Sunset”, which was published with the support of the Swiss Embassy to Uzbekistan .

It is important to mention that freedom of expression is one of the key criteria of any state governed by the rule of law. Judging any artwork should be done by experts and viewers and not by forces of any official organs. Art is not equal with social and political journalism and cannot be viewed as a “document” in legal sense, therefore it cannot be an agent of “slander”.

Photographs of Umida Ahmedova possess obvious artistic value and are considered as Central Asian cultural asserts by international professional community. The government should be proud of the creativity of the talented photographer and not threaten her with criminal persecution.

Umida Ahmedova is known as an advocate of documentary photography and cinema. Her lens follows the lives of the people in Uzbekistan, their rites and customs; her attention is given to simple people and their everyday behavior. Images, taken by Umida Ahmedova, are not fantasies and not caricatures. They authentically capture that side of life, which people of Uzbekistan face daily; every passerby on the streets, guests at weddings and other family celebrations. Accusation of these easily recognizable captions with “slander” and “insult” can only be done by those who know the life of the Uzbek nation only through reports of official TV channels and through emasculated images of official art.

The example of Umida Ahmedova shows that there is a quality crisis in the consciousness of authorities. From ideological intrusion of their clichés to the society, they turn to legal pressure. Facts of life, which are not corresponding to the official ideology, are suppressed and their representation in arts falls under prosecutors’ inspection. If this present process is not stopped, any photo that is taken on the Uzbek streets can become pretext for legal pursuit.

By signing this appeal, we demand that the Uzbek government complies with the rules of the Republic and respects the right of the artist to free creativity. Umida Ahmedova did not take pictures of secret objects, did not defame governmental symbols and did not “slander” the Uzbek nation. Discussion of artworks should take place on pages of magazines and newspapers and not in the court hall.

We are also turning to the international community, heads of diplomatic missions and human rights organizations. The Uzbek Justice is making a dangerous turn, the consequences of which can be unpredictable. We must do everything possible so that it does not become worse!

To sign the petition, please contact Boris Chukhovich boris@colba.net. Thank you.

READ THE FULL IAAC APPEAL IN DEFENSE OF UMIDA AHMEDOVA HERE