The author of the Nemolchi.uz project and the administrator of the Context.uz Telegram channel, Irina Matvienko, temporarily left Uzbekistan due to a death threat. Earlier, thanks to the publications of Nemolchi.uz, people in Uzbekistan learned that officials from the system of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Emergency Situations seduced children from the orphanage. Perhaps the project is the only NGO that actively defends women's rights in Uzbekistan.
“After I received a death threat, my behavior changed. I tried to treat it like someone's stupid joke, but it was scary to walk alone. I started examining every corner from a distance before approaching it, holding a key in my hands with the point outward. I stopped using the elevator in the apartment building and asked my husband to make a light in our part of the site, put a lock on the common door,” she wrote in the Telegram channel.
According to her, she made her final decision after a session with a psychologist last week.
“She said the style of the message is like from a psychopath and that a psychopath can really kill. This spring there are many exacerbations of mental disorders, more than usual. So, I thought maybe I should leave the country for a few weeks. I will definitely be back and hopefully soon. I need to calm down in a safe place,” Irina Matvienko said.
The head of the Nemolchi.uz project added that she never thought that an anonymous death threat on Telegram would affect her.
“I didn’t think that I would really have to leave Uzbekistan in fear for my safety,” she noted.
She reported the threat on April 24 and posted a screenshot. Later, she clarified that on April 28 she applied to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
