The Richman's Cafe seemed an unlikely place to meet a terrorist, but at least it was well lit and public.
We were on the outskirts of Osh, the largest town in southern Kyrgyzstan, close to the border with Uzbekistan. Alisher Saipov is a slightly built young man, editor of the local newspaper and a frequent contributor to the Internet news agency Ferghana.ru. He still bore signs of a savage beating that had landed him in hospital six weeks earlier. Apparently some readers took exception to his editorial line on the political links of organized crime. Scars around his left eye and a broken cheekbone attested to the price of forthright reporting in a country where violence and intimidation trump the rule of law.
Over dinner, Saipov showed no signs of backing down, saying that the duty of a journalist is to give people hope by not giving in to fear. Oppressors thrive, he maintained, when they can rely on a fearful populace and their methods go unchallenged. But journalists, by challenging the fear-mongers and exposing their shady deals and practices, embolden the people. Holding those in power accountable is the duty of journalists, he insisted -- and here, as in many countries, that is a risky business.