I’ve been following the story of Craig Murray, Britain’s ambassador to Uzbekistan, who wrote a report condemning the intelligence services of the United States and of Britain for knowingly relying on intelligence obtained through torture in Uzbekistan. I discussed the report, which had leaked to the press. I noted that the British government looked like it was going to play hardball.
Britain’s ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, was dismissed from his post as the Foreign Office claimed its ministers and his colleagues no longer had confidence in him.
The move ends a 15-month battle between London and their outspoken envoy to Tashkent, who has embarrassed his masters by speaking out on Uzbekistan’s poor human rights record.…
Mr Murray has alleged that the UK and US remained silent over Uzbekistan’s human rights record, where torture is practised as a routine investigation technique, because US forces were using an airbase vital for launching Operation Enduring Freedom in neighbouring Afghanistan.…
Mr Murray’s criticism of Uzbekistan has embarrassed London and Washington. In the US was forced to withdraw part of its multimillion dollar aid package to the country partly because of the abuses the ambassador highlighted.
Uzbek president Islam Karimov was angered when the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, a friend of Mr Murray’s, brought up a speech the envoy made on human rights abuses during one of their official meetings.…
