Lola Kallikhanova (Uzbek: Lolagul Qallixanova; born 1989) is a journalist from Karakalpakstan. She is the founder of the independent news website Makan.uz, reported on COVID-19 in the region, and has been the subject of police intimidation, which was condemned by he Coalition for Women in Journalism. She was prosecuted for disseminating leaflets during riots in 2023; her treatment during the trial was objected to by Human Rights Watch.
Lola Kallikhanova
| |
|---|---|
Lolagul Qallixanova
| |
| Born | 1989 |
| Citizenship | Uzbekistan |
| Alma mater | Karakalpak State University |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Born in 1989,[1] Kallikhanova graduated in 2010 from Karakalpak State University (kaa).[2] After graduation she studied for a Masters, and subsequently worked at Karakalpak Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry as press secretary.[2] She later worked as a radio editor at Nukus FM with journalist Bakhytbek Elmanov. Work at the radio station inspired her to establish the independent news website Makan.uz, which also had a Telegram channel with 65,000 subscribers, as of 2020.[2][3] She wrote much of the coverage of COVID-19 in Karakalpakstan.[4] She has also written on gender disparity.[2]
In 2020 Kallikhanova was the subject of police intimidation: she was picked up by six police cars in the middle of the night, who took her phone, and she was questioned for three hours before release.[4] This treatment of Kallikhanova and other journalists was condemned by the Coalition for Women in Journalism.[5]
Kallikhanova was prosecuted in January 2023, and sentenced to three years of a suspended sentence.[6][7] She was accused of disseminating separatist materials during riots on 1-2 July 2022 in Nukus.[6] She was reported missing after these events, but her whereabouts later became known.[3] During the trial she pleaded guilty and, when questioned about a video that she posted, expressed regret over her actions and the violence of the riots.[8][9] Human Rights Watch objected to her treatment, and that of other journalists, describing it as "unfair".[10]