Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov has died after suffering a brain haemorrhage, according to reports from diplomatic sources. Karimov, who ran the ex-Soviet republic with an iron grip for 27 years, saw himself as the protector of his Central Asian nation against the threat of militant Islam. To his critics, he was a brutal dictator who used torture to stay in power.
26 April 2016: Uzbek President Islam Karimov speaks during a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin following their meeting at the Kremlin in MoscowReuters
Under his rule, Uzbekistan, a country of 32 million people straddling the ancient Silk Road that links Asia and Europe, became one of the world's most isolated and authoritarian nations. Karimov kept local media tightly muzzled and banned major foreign media outlets such as the BBC from operating in the country.
25 June 1996: President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan meets with US President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DCJamal Wildon/AFP9 June 19999: An Uzbek policeman guards terrorist suspects in a courtroom in Tashkent during the trial of 22 people accused of taking part in acts of terrorism carried out in the Uzbek capital earlier that yeariStock20 September 1999: Tim Henman of Britain smiles as he receives a trophy from Uzbek President Islam Karimov after he beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia in the final of the President's Cup in TashkentReuters17 February 1999: An employee removes fragments of a broken window from a damaged government building in Tashkent, following bomb attacks which killed at least 15 peopleReuters12 March 2002: US President George W Bush meets with Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov in the Oval Office of the White HouseLarry Downing/Reuters27 September 2003: Convicts toil in the yard of Uzbekistan's dreaded Jaslik jail, some 1,000km west of the capital TashkentShamil Zhumatov/Reuters2 April 2004: Journalists look at weapons and explosives seized from militants at a news briefing at the prosecutor-general's office in Tashkent after a week of violence in Uzbekistan killed at least 47Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters26 July 2004: An Uzbek policeman watches over suspects, accused of carrying out terrorist attacks Tashkent and in the Bukhara regionShamil Baigin/Reuters30 July 2004: Uzbek specialists investigate the scene of a blast in the prosecutor's office in Tashkent. A series of simultaneous explosions struck the US and Israeli embassies and the prosecutor's office in the Uzbek capitalReuters
Uzbekistan's relations with the United States and the European Union were frozen after troops brutally suppressed a popular uprising in the eastern town of Andizhan in May 2005. Hundreds of civilians were killed, according to reports by witnesses and human rights groups.
14 May 2005: A man gestures to the bodies of victims of clashes between government forces and local protesters in the Uzbek town of Andijan. Human rights organisations and witnesses said 500 to 1,000 people, mostly civilians, were gunned down by security forces in the wake of a local uprisingAFP15 May 2005: Uzbek soldiers patrol around an armoured personnel carrier in the town of Andijan. Human Rights Watch blasted hardline Uzbek President Islam Karimov for a military crackdown that resulted in the deaths of at least 745 peopleAFP17 May 2005: Local residents walk under a poster of Uzbekistan's authoritarian President Islam Karimov at the centre of the town of AndijanAFP12 May 2006: Uzbek secret service agent clash with Yelena Yurlayeva during a protest in Tashkent to mark the first anniversary of a bloody crackdown against unrest in the eastern city of AndijanAFP20 May 2005: An Uzbek refugee cries at a refugee camp outside the Kyrgyz village of Barash, some 40 kilometres from Andijan in UzbekistanAFP31 August 2006: Uzbek soldiers stand to attention during Independence Day celebrations in Tashkent, marking the 15th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet UnionReuters20 December 2007: Human rights activists rally in the Uzbek capital Tashkent. President Islam Karimov, who was expected to extend his 18-year rule in the December election, was accused by Western human rights groups of violating basic liberties and blocking democracy in the Central Asian stateReuters23 December 2007: A boy walks past an electoral poster of Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov in TashkentReuters22 January 2009: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Uzbek President Islam Karimov visit a mosque in Samarkand, one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central AsiaAFP30 August 2011: The region's first high-speed train stands at the railway station in TashkentAFP22 October 2011: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov in TashkentReuters26 April 2016: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov arrive for a meeting at the Kremlin in MoscowAFP
Karimov had two daughters. One of them, Gulnara, tried to position herself as a pop star at home and an international socialite, becoming one of the most powerful people in Uzbekistan and reportedly controlling a vast business empire. But media sources reported in 2014 that she had been placed under house arrest, and she has not appeared in public since then. Her younger sister Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva has risen to public prominence, serving as Uzbekistan's ambassador to the Paris-based Unesco. She told the BBC in 2013 she had not spoken to Gulnara for 12 years.
8 April 2009: President Karimov's youngest daughter Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva is pictured at the Modern Art museum in ParisAFP31 August 2012: Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov, films her father dancing during an Independence Day celebration in TashkentReuters
The uncertainty over Karimov's health has raised concerns that Uzbekistan could face prolonged infighting among clans over leadership claims, something Islamist radicals could exploit. Authorities appear to be cracking down on communication channels since the announcement about the president's health. Reports say that government officials were told to turn off their phones, internet speeds in Uzbekistan slowed sharply, and journalists are not being allowed into Samarkand without prior accreditation.
