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| Uzbekistan's feuding first family and the mystery of the president's missing daughter | Uzbekistan's feuding first family and the mystery of the president's missing daughter |
| (6 days later) | |
| This article is the subject of a legal complaint made on behalf of Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva. | |
| The murky, Shakespearean world of Uzbekistan’s ruling family has never been easy to track from outside. The dictatorship of Islam Karimov, the only president the country has ever had, is second only to North Korea's in the secrecy stakes. But in recent months, the family's extraordinary feuds have begun to seep into the public space. | The murky, Shakespearean world of Uzbekistan’s ruling family has never been easy to track from outside. The dictatorship of Islam Karimov, the only president the country has ever had, is second only to North Korea's in the secrecy stakes. But in recent months, the family's extraordinary feuds have begun to seep into the public space. |
| Karimov, now 76 and heading into an election year with no named successor, has been able to keep the country in a state of cowed submission, but his own family has proved more complicated. His two socialite daughters, Lola and Gulnara, who led glamorous lives in European capitals, revealed the rifts in the family in rare media interviews last year. | |
| Now, for the first time in the western press, the president’s UK-based grandson – Gulnara Karimova’s son – has spoken out, voicing fears for his mother’s safety and even for her life. | Now, for the first time in the western press, the president’s UK-based grandson – Gulnara Karimova’s son – has spoken out, voicing fears for his mother’s safety and even for her life. |
| Islam Karimov Jr, a stocky 21-year-old, says his mother has been held under unofficial house arrest in the country since February. Communication channels have been silent for four months, leaving him to fear the worst. | Islam Karimov Jr, a stocky 21-year-old, says his mother has been held under unofficial house arrest in the country since February. Communication channels have been silent for four months, leaving him to fear the worst. |
| “It’s very difficult for me to even say this, but sadly, even if something happened to them or their lives were at extreme risk, I would not know about it and there is no way for me to find out about it,” said Karimov Jr, a second-year student in business studies and law at Oxford Brookes University. | “It’s very difficult for me to even say this, but sadly, even if something happened to them or their lives were at extreme risk, I would not know about it and there is no way for me to find out about it,” said Karimov Jr, a second-year student in business studies and law at Oxford Brookes University. |
| Gulnara Karimova, once the favoured daughter and presumed successor to her father’s autocratic mantle, told the Guardian in December that her sister and mother were engaged in a plot to turn her father against her. | |
| Karimova-Tillyaeva has previously rejected these allegations made against her by her sister, which she says are defamatory. In a statement last year she said she was considering whether to take legal action over them. | |
| In February, Gulnara's Twitter account, an extraordinary – if at times only semi-coherent – peephole into what was really happening at the centre of power and inside her troubled family, vanished. | |
| And Karimova, who was once everywhere in Uzbekistan, recording pop songs, appearing at fashion events with western celebrities and even launching her own jewellery line, completely disappeared. | And Karimova, who was once everywhere in Uzbekistan, recording pop songs, appearing at fashion events with western celebrities and even launching her own jewellery line, completely disappeared. |
| Rumours were rife that she had fallen from favour, that the president was irritated by a fraud case in Switzerland and her online outbursts about her family. | Rumours were rife that she had fallen from favour, that the president was irritated by a fraud case in Switzerland and her online outbursts about her family. |
| Stocky but softly spoken, with jet-black hair and wearing designer jeans, Karimov Jr asks to meet in the lobby of a five-star London hotel. He looks around nervously during the interview. He has noticed people following him around London, he says. | Stocky but softly spoken, with jet-black hair and wearing designer jeans, Karimov Jr asks to meet in the lobby of a five-star London hotel. He looks around nervously during the interview. He has noticed people following him around London, he says. |
| His words shed new light on the family strife, which could affect the future of the central Asian state. | His words shed new light on the family strife, which could affect the future of the central Asian state. |
| His mother has been locked up under house arrest, with no official charges, he claims, together with his teenage sister, a student at a UK private school, who is unable to return to Britain and continue studying. | His mother has been locked up under house arrest, with no official charges, he claims, together with his teenage sister, a student at a UK private school, who is unable to return to Britain and continue studying. |
| He says the last time he heard from his mother was in March, when there was still infrequent phone contact. Since then, there has been nothing, save for a few text messages sent from anonymous numbers, apparently from his mother. “I doubt that it’s them, because it was in a different style,” says Karimov Jr. | He says the last time he heard from his mother was in March, when there was still infrequent phone contact. Since then, there has been nothing, save for a few text messages sent from anonymous numbers, apparently from his mother. “I doubt that it’s them, because it was in a different style,” says Karimov Jr. |
| He is careful with his words, but accuses “certain people” of provoking the wrath of his grandfather. Karimov Jr says he travelled to Tashkent in mid-December after his term at Oxford Brookes was over. He always spends his birthday – 22 December – and New Year’s Eve, with his family, including the president. This time, however, Karimov Jr and his sister were turned away from the president's residence by armed men. | He is careful with his words, but accuses “certain people” of provoking the wrath of his grandfather. Karimov Jr says he travelled to Tashkent in mid-December after his term at Oxford Brookes was over. He always spends his birthday – 22 December – and New Year’s Eve, with his family, including the president. This time, however, Karimov Jr and his sister were turned away from the president's residence by armed men. |
| On the first occasion, Karimov Jr’s car was stopped at a security post at the entrance to the territory, where a terrified-looking guard told him the car was not allowed to pass. Determined to carry on, Karimov Jr said that he would leave the car and walk the two miles to the residence. Halfway down the road, he says, the head of his grandmother’s security arrived and warned the pair that they must go back immediately, intimating that if they continued walking, they could be shot by snipers. | On the first occasion, Karimov Jr’s car was stopped at a security post at the entrance to the territory, where a terrified-looking guard told him the car was not allowed to pass. Determined to carry on, Karimov Jr said that he would leave the car and walk the two miles to the residence. Halfway down the road, he says, the head of his grandmother’s security arrived and warned the pair that they must go back immediately, intimating that if they continued walking, they could be shot by snipers. |
| On New Year’s Eve, Karimova and her two children made another attempt to access the president, at his mountain residence outside Tashkent, but they were again stopped by armed men who demanded they leave. | On New Year’s Eve, Karimova and her two children made another attempt to access the president, at his mountain residence outside Tashkent, but they were again stopped by armed men who demanded they leave. |
| Karimov Jr recalls: “Each time there were people with guns and we were denied access. There were threats, and it was impossible to access my grandfather in any way. The main excuse they had was that they had orders from high up not to let us through.” | Karimov Jr recalls: “Each time there were people with guns and we were denied access. There were threats, and it was impossible to access my grandfather in any way. The main excuse they had was that they had orders from high up not to let us through.” |
| It was unclear whether the president knew that his family was trying to reach him, or whether access had been denied by others. | It was unclear whether the president knew that his family was trying to reach him, or whether access had been denied by others. |
| Finally, on 2 January, the summons came that the president was ready to meet his out-of-favour daughter, and Karimov Jr went to the meeting in an attempt to smooth things over with his grandfather, before Gulnara Karimova and her daughter joined. | Finally, on 2 January, the summons came that the president was ready to meet his out-of-favour daughter, and Karimov Jr went to the meeting in an attempt to smooth things over with his grandfather, before Gulnara Karimova and her daughter joined. |
| Karimov and his wife, Tatyana, were also present at the meeting. Karimov was furious about Gulnara’s Twitter account and internet presence, claiming it was bringing disrepute to Uzbekistan’s image in the world. | Karimov and his wife, Tatyana, were also present at the meeting. Karimov was furious about Gulnara’s Twitter account and internet presence, claiming it was bringing disrepute to Uzbekistan’s image in the world. |
| He is also believed to be annoyed that Gulnara has been linked to high-profile money laundering and corruption investigations in Switzerland and Sweden. Hundreds of millions of pounds have been blocked in Swiss accounts amid suspicion they could be linked to bribes paid over a Swedish telecoms deal. Karimova’s mansion was also searched by police. She has always denied any wrongdoing. | |
| “This was the last time we saw each other,” recalls Karimov Jr of the meeting. | “This was the last time we saw each other,” recalls Karimov Jr of the meeting. |
| “In the beginning, my grandfather was misled with a lot of false information regarding the matter. We had to explain thoroughly what was really going on, but we were interrupted … my grandmother tried to present her view of the situation.” | “In the beginning, my grandfather was misled with a lot of false information regarding the matter. We had to explain thoroughly what was really going on, but we were interrupted … my grandmother tried to present her view of the situation.” |
| It was an emotional meeting that involved shouting, tears and disagreements, but it seemed all was well by the end, and Karimov Jr returned to Britain. It was the last time he saw his mother. | It was an emotional meeting that involved shouting, tears and disagreements, but it seemed all was well by the end, and Karimov Jr returned to Britain. It was the last time he saw his mother. |
| Dozens of his mother’s associates have been arrested and four of Karimov Jr’s bodyguards have been detained by the security services. | Dozens of his mother’s associates have been arrested and four of Karimov Jr’s bodyguards have been detained by the security services. |
| In March, a BBC correspondent received a letter purportedly handwritten by Karimova, talking of her mistreatment in captivity. “I am under severe psychological pressure, I have been beaten, you can count bruises on my arms,” reads one line. | In March, a BBC correspondent received a letter purportedly handwritten by Karimova, talking of her mistreatment in captivity. “I am under severe psychological pressure, I have been beaten, you can count bruises on my arms,” reads one line. |
| Later, a photograph was smuggled out of the country featuring a dishevelled Karimova sipping from a carton of Nesquik. It was hardly comparable to the grim life inside Uzbekistan’s notorious prisons, where prisoners have reportedly been boiled alive, but was nevertheless a shocking fall from grace for the socialite. | Later, a photograph was smuggled out of the country featuring a dishevelled Karimova sipping from a carton of Nesquik. It was hardly comparable to the grim life inside Uzbekistan’s notorious prisons, where prisoners have reportedly been boiled alive, but was nevertheless a shocking fall from grace for the socialite. |
| “She always had a lot of enemies, but she thought she was protected because of who she was,” says a Moscow-based source who knows the Karimov family. “What we are seeing is a very simple situation. The leader is old and cannot live for ever, but has never nominated a successor, and Gulnara is a threat, so had to be neutralised.” | |
| The country is due to hold presidential elections next year, and with no designated successor to the ailing Karimov, different factions inside the regime are engaging in a vicious, but hidden battle. Although Karimova was always evasive when it came to publicly acknowledging political ambitions, it was widely assumed that she had once been seen as the natural successor by her father, and her huge business empire posed a threat to many. | |
| In December, Karimova told the Guardian she believed her mother and sister were part of a plot against her. | |
| “Their goals are obviously the same, and nothing unites people better than one aim,” wrote Karimova in emailed answers to questions. | “Their goals are obviously the same, and nothing unites people better than one aim,” wrote Karimova in emailed answers to questions. |
| “It hurts me to accept that for the sake of tomorrow, people can betray their close ones today. But things usually change with money and politics or power. Envy or jealousy always destroys unity, even inside one household.” | “It hurts me to accept that for the sake of tomorrow, people can betray their close ones today. But things usually change with money and politics or power. Envy or jealousy always destroys unity, even inside one household.” |
| Gulnara Karimova’s sister, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, is Uzbekistan’s ambassador to Unesco, and lives in a mansion in Geneva. Karimova-Tillyaeva's lawyers said that Gulnara's comments were false and highly defamatory. They said that Karimova-Tillyaeva had never been involved in Uzbekistan's politics, nor had she ever been engaged in any activities which could be interpreted as such. In a statement last year Karimova-Tillyaeva said she was considering whether to take legal action over Gulnara's comments. | |
| It is unclear how much Gulnara's father is responsible for her downfall. Although Karimov is considered to be one of the world’s most unpleasant dictators – being responsible, notably, for the 2005 Andijan massacre when hundreds of unarmed protesters were shot dead by his security forces – the ageing president is surrounded by a coterie of people who control access and information flows to him. | It is unclear how much Gulnara's father is responsible for her downfall. Although Karimov is considered to be one of the world’s most unpleasant dictators – being responsible, notably, for the 2005 Andijan massacre when hundreds of unarmed protesters were shot dead by his security forces – the ageing president is surrounded by a coterie of people who control access and information flows to him. |
| Karimov is isolated from reality. He rarely travels, and when he does, it is usually to other former Soviet countries. He never takes questions from journalists and so has not been asked what has happened to his once-ubiquitous daughter. | Karimov is isolated from reality. He rarely travels, and when he does, it is usually to other former Soviet countries. He never takes questions from journalists and so has not been asked what has happened to his once-ubiquitous daughter. |
| Courted by the west, because of the country’s strategic location bordering Afghanistan, Washington and other capitals turn a blind eye to the regime’s abuses. | Courted by the west, because of the country’s strategic location bordering Afghanistan, Washington and other capitals turn a blind eye to the regime’s abuses. |
| Statements on the presidential website are almost North Korean in their detachment from reality, referring to the “achievements and perspectives of Uzbekistan using its own ‘Uzbek model’ of development, acknowledged across the globe”. In reality, most Uzbeks live in poverty, the economy is in ruins, corruption is rife and forced child labour in the cottonfields widespread. | Statements on the presidential website are almost North Korean in their detachment from reality, referring to the “achievements and perspectives of Uzbekistan using its own ‘Uzbek model’ of development, acknowledged across the globe”. In reality, most Uzbeks live in poverty, the economy is in ruins, corruption is rife and forced child labour in the cottonfields widespread. |
| In a rare public appearance last year, Karimov launched into an extraordinary attack on Uzbek migrant labourers who travel to Russia, usually to work in poor conditions in order to send money to their impoverished families, calling them “lazy” for not finding a job at home. | In a rare public appearance last year, Karimov launched into an extraordinary attack on Uzbek migrant labourers who travel to Russia, usually to work in poor conditions in order to send money to their impoverished families, calling them “lazy” for not finding a job at home. |
| While the Uzbek president is surrounded by feuding family members, he does not have any financial interests, claims Karimov Jr. As an illustration of the president’s isolation from “big money”, he recalls a tale when he was back in Tashkent for the school holidays and his grandfather said he wanted to give him a treat to ensure he could buy whatever he wanted in Britain. | |
| “He took an envelope from his desk, where he kept envelopes that had his official government salary in them, and he gave me $100 [£58] and my sister $100. He said he wanted me to have it because he wanted me never to lack for anything in life, and said that I should not spend it all at once. He said to come back in a month for more if I managed to spend it all.” | “He took an envelope from his desk, where he kept envelopes that had his official government salary in them, and he gave me $100 [£58] and my sister $100. He said he wanted me to have it because he wanted me never to lack for anything in life, and said that I should not spend it all at once. He said to come back in a month for more if I managed to spend it all.” |
| Karimova in December claimed that high-ranking SNB officials, including the agency’s powerful head, Rustam Inoyatov, had also turned the president against her. As far back as 2008, a leaked US diplomatic cable quotes an unnamed source close to government circles explaining how Inoyatov controlled ministers’ access to the president and even collected blackmail against ministers to keep them in line and prevent them developing close relationships with the president. | |
| In some of her last messages before her Twitter account went dark, Karimova accused Inoyatov and his SNB of terrible human rights violations. Many Uzbekistan observers have said that while Karimova’s criticisms of arbitrary justice and human rights abuses in Uzbekistan ring true with the many documented cases of horrific abuse over the years, she is not in a position to win much sympathy, having benefited financially from the regime for so long and been part of it. | In some of her last messages before her Twitter account went dark, Karimova accused Inoyatov and his SNB of terrible human rights violations. Many Uzbekistan observers have said that while Karimova’s criticisms of arbitrary justice and human rights abuses in Uzbekistan ring true with the many documented cases of horrific abuse over the years, she is not in a position to win much sympathy, having benefited financially from the regime for so long and been part of it. |
| “It’s very easy for people to say these things,” says Karimov Jr. “But how in reality do these people expect her to speak out against certain things in the country when even she is not protected from the will of the SNB? Look what happened now, she tried to speak out and this was what happened to her.” | “It’s very easy for people to say these things,” says Karimov Jr. “But how in reality do these people expect her to speak out against certain things in the country when even she is not protected from the will of the SNB? Look what happened now, she tried to speak out and this was what happened to her.” |
| • This article was edited on 22 July. An earlier version failed to represent properly Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva's denials of her sister's allegations about her and her insistence that she has no involvement in Uzbek politics and never discusses politics with her father. The article has been amended accordingly. | |