French website must prove Uzbekistan is a dictatorship
We’ve taken a few shots at Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s socialite/pop star/CEO/potential successor Gulnara over the years, but apparently it’s younger daughter Lola who’s the touchier one. Lola is currently suing the French news site Rue89 over an article describing her as a “dictator’s daughter.” Jean-Paul Marthoz of the Committee to Protect Journalists expains: Written ...
We've taken a few shots at Uzbek President Islam Karimov's socialite/pop star/CEO/potential successor Gulnara over the years, but apparently it's younger daughter Lola who's the touchier one. Lola is currently suing the French news site Rue89 over an article describing her as a "dictator's daughter." Jean-Paul Marthoz of the Committee to Protect Journalists expains:
We’ve taken a few shots at Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s socialite/pop star/CEO/potential successor Gulnara over the years, but apparently it’s younger daughter Lola who’s the touchier one. Lola is currently suing the French news site Rue89 over an article describing her as a “dictator’s daughter.” Jean-Paul Marthoz of the Committee to Protect Journalists expains:
Written by Augustin Scalbert and published on May 20, 2010, under the headline “AIDS: Uzbekistan represses at home but parades in Cannes,” the article described how Karimova, the “dictator’s daughter” and Uzbekistan’s ambassador to UNESCO, was “whitewashing the image of Uzbekistan” by inviting jet-set celebrities to her glitzy philanthropic events. The article also mentioned that she had paid actress Monica Bellucci 190,000 euros (US$270,000) to appear in one of her charity balls.
The trial, which will take place just a few days after the sixth anniversary of the Andijan massacre, appears likely to backfire spectacularly for the Karimov family, giving the editors of Rue89 a high-profile public venue to make the not-very-hard-to-make case that Uzbekistan is, in fact, a dictatorship.
Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
More from Foreign Policy

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy
The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now
In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet
As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.