“If there is no freedom of speech in a country, there will be no development and progress” – Komil Allamjonov

Uzbekistan ranks 160th in the Reporters Without Borders rating with a score of 53.52. Two years ago, our country was ranked 169th and last year – 165th.

The report notes that Uzbek journalists have been covering up topical issues such as forced labor and corruption in the past two years, but the media has still had a strong internal censorship.

“It means that there is a lot to do in the country to ensure freedom of speech and support journalists. If we support and encourage the media, then only actual topics will be depicted,” the head of the Information and Mass Communications Agency under the Presidential Administration Komil Allamjonov wrote on his Facebook page. 

Tajikistan ranked 149th in the rating last year and this year - 161. Russia has declined by 1 seat compared to the last year – 149th place. Kyrgyzstan has improved its ranking by 15 places – 83rd place.

“This report reflects that if a country has no freedom of speech, there will not be any development or progress. Today's politics and reforms are closely linked to the freedom of speech and press,” Allamjonov said.

For information, the Freedom of the Media Index is composed of a list of 180 selected countries in accordance with the “freedom level of local journalists”. 

It is formed according to the responses to a special survey of journalists, lawyers and sociologists from different countries. Questionnaires cover a wide range of issues related to journalism law, self-censorship, media freedom, pluralism of opinions, readiness of various institutions and agencies to work with journalists, and so on.

Additionally, some additional criteria, such as the number of killed and imprisoned journalists, as well as bloggers who are prosecuted and others are also taken into account.