Freedom of Speech in the Internet in Central Asia 2008

Reporters without Borders published new reports about freedom of speech and specifically Internet censorship. Here are reports on Central Asian countries:

Freedom of Speech in Kazakhstan [Internet cases]
Freedom of Speech in Kyrgyzstan
Freedom of Speech in Tajikistan [Internet cases]
Freedom of Speech in Turkmenistan [Internet cases]
Freedom of Speech in Uzbekistan [Internet cases]

Internet "Black Holes" 2007 by Reporters Without Borders

"Reporters Without Borders" published report about 15 countries with limited freedom of expression on the Internet on their point of view:
1. Belarus
2. Burma
3. China
4. Cuba
5. Iran
6. Libya
7. Maldives
8. Nepal
9. North Korea
10. Saudi Arabia
11. Syria
12. Tunisia
13. Turkmenistan
14. Uzbekistan
15. Vietnam

Here is the detailed description on Central Asian countries from the report:

Turkmenistan

With less than 1 per cent of the population online, this is one of the world’s least connected countries. President Separmurad Nyazov is a central Asian Kim Jong-Il, wielding total control over the media. Not only is the Turkmen Internet censored, it is also forbidden territory for the vast majority of the population.

Uzbekistan

Official censorship seems to have become even tougher since the bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy protests in Andidjan in May 2005. The iron-fisted government led by President Islam Karimov blocks access to most independent websites dealing with Uzbekistan, which are usually hosted on servers in Russia, and to NGO websites that criticise its human rights violations.

OSCE Report: Governing the Internet in Kazakhstan

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) published a report called "Governing the Internet - Freedom and Regulation in the OSCE Region".

Link: Download Governing the Internet Report

On pages 119-131 it has article by Rachid Nougmanov called "Internet Governance in Kazakhstan" which criticizes the governance and underlines the expensiveness of the Internet connection comparing to the salaries.

Link to article about it on Ars Technica website:
Internet Prices in Kazakhstan based on OSCE Report

Link to article about it on Ars Technica website:
Kazakhstan here we come