Islam Karimov, President of Uzbekistan
Age: 73
Assumed office: 3/24/90
If you protest, you die. This is what the media said Uzbekistan’s citizens were subjected to when several hundred reportedly took to the streets to protest the arrest of 23 local businessmen in 2005. The United Nation also describes his manner of torture as “systematic.” That very day, the government issued a statement that 9 people were killed and 34 sustained injuries during a “clash.” Reporters Without Borders characterizes Karimov as one of the world’s “Predators of Press Freedom, breaking his own records for repression and paranoia.”
