Komil Allamjonov
By Exec Edge Editorial Staff
Nearly one month after an assassination attempt on Komil Allamjonov, former press secretary to the president of Uzbekistan, a key suspect in the attack continues to elude law enforcement authorities in South Korea, where he fled after the failed hit, and authorities in neither country have provided details of the investigation.
In Uzbekistan, where a multi-jurisdictional investigation has led to the arrest of four individuals related to the attack, officials have yet to make statement or provide a motive. Local media have been gagged from reporting anything other than what is released through government channels. During his time as presidential press secretary, Allamjonov championed press freedoms and unblocked foreign media’s access to Uzbekistan.
Outside observers of Uzbekistan say the attack is emblematic of the ongoing struggle between reform-minded, Western-facing individuals, such as Allamjonov, and entrenched, Soviet-era opponents in the government who oppose such reforms. Some have written that the attack on Allamjonov was meant to send a message to those who share his reformist views.
This, combined with lack of information from Uzbek authorities and the key suspect’s apparent elusiveness in South Korea, has raised concerns that the investigation may not proceed in a transparent and credible fashion.
Most of the figures involved in the incident have some connection to the current and former governments of Uzbekistan, and many are connected to each other.
For his part, Allamjonov, 40, has been under heavily-armed, around-the-clock state security since the attack. He left his government post in September, and did not have security at the time of the Oct. 26 attack, when gunmen fired on Allamjonov and his driver near his home in Tashkent, the nation’s capital. Neither was injured.
During his time in the government, Allamjonov worked closely with Saida Mirziyoyev, daughter of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and No. 2 in his government. Allamjonov and Saida Mirziyoyev were leaders of the government’s reform movement, designed to expand democratic rights in the country, and they were often the face of the government to visiting foreign dignitaries.
Saida Mirziyoyev’s younger sister, Shahnoza, is married to Otabek Umarov, head of presidential security services. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that the relationship between Allamjonov and Umarov had become “poisonous,” though none besides the current suspects have been connected to the attack.
An already complicated case has taken strange twists since the assassination attempt.