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Uzbekistan’s gov’t says ailing president in critical state

Uzbekistan’s government said earlier in the day that Karimov was in a critical condition as his health had sharply deteriorated over the previous 24 hours.

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Turkish Prime Minitser Binali Yildrim told a televised cabinet meeting: “Uzbek President Islam Karimov has passed away”.

Georgy Margvelashvili, president of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, also expressed his sympathy, saying Karimov had led Uzbekistan during the most hard period of its history.

MOSCOW (AP) — The government of Uzbekistan said on Friday that ailing President Islam Karimov is in critical condition, following a week of speculation that the country’s president of almost 27 years could be at death’s door.

Some news sources reported Karimov’s death Friday, although there has been no confirmation from the government.

Karimov ran an authoritarian government in the Central Asian nation since 1989, and cultivated no apparent successor.

The New York Times suggests that Karimov’s wife Tatyana and the head of the country’s secret police are likely to play key roles in choosing a successor but are unlikely to take the gig themselves.

Long lambasted for brutally crushing dissent, Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov has kept a stranglehold on power for over 25 years – even at the expense of his own daughter.

Uzbek President Islam Karimov has died was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on September 02, 2016 and was last updated on September 02, 2016.

Karimov’s regime has repeatedly been accused of violating human rights, including torture and forced labor in the country’s cotton industry.

Karimov avoided appointing a successor and there’s no obvious candidate waiting in the wings.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lamented the death of his Uzbek counterpart Karimov as a “great loss”.

Most seriously, the authorities have been accused of killing hundreds of protesters in the eastern city of Andijan in 2005.

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Uzbek officials have said only that Karimov is gravely ill, but messages of condolence have started arriving from other governments.

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