Galima Bukharbaeva

Galima Bukharbaeva, born in Tashkent in 1974, is an internationally recognized Uzbek journalist and Feuchtwanger Fellow renowned for her courageous reporting on state repression and human rights abuses in Uzbekistan. After graduating from the Journalism Department at Tashkent State University in 1997, she began her career with Internews and went on to serve as a correspondent for Agence France Presse (AFP) and as country director for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR).

Bukharbaeva’s reporting has focused on the suppression of Islamic activists, police brutality, and state-sponsored attacks on human rights defenders and journalists. She gained international prominence for her eyewitness coverage of the Andijan massacre on May 13, 2005, during which she narrowly escaped with her life when a bullet tore through her backpack as security forces opened fire on demonstrators. Despite the grave risks, she continued to document the events, bringing global attention to the government’s brutality. In the aftermath, Bukharbaeva was targeted by Uzbek authorities, accused of “information warfare against the state,” and forced into exile.

Following periods in Kyrgyzstan and the United States-where she earned a Fulbright Award for graduate study at Columbia University’s School of Journalism-Bukharbaeva remained a steadfast advocate for independent journalism and press freedom. She served as editor-in-chief of uznews.net, an independent news website that was blocked for years in Uzbekistan and ultimately shuttered in 2014 after a targeted cyberattack exposed her contributors. In 2016, she founded the regional news portal Centre1.com.

For her unwavering commitment, Bukharbaeva has received numerous honors, including the 2005 International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. Now based in Germany, she continues to be one of Central Asia’s most important voices for independent journalism and human rights.