Uzbek State Television And Radio Company's Website Hacked

A group that called itself Clone Security contacted RFE/RL and took responsibility for the incident.

The website of Uzbekistan's National Television and Radio Company has been hacked.

On January 30, the website unexpectedly carried a message saying, "The news you spread are lies!"

Later, the website became inaccessible.

A group that called itself Clone Security contacted RFE/RL and took responsibility for the incident.

Group members said that it was a political act "in response to false news spread by Uzbekistan's state-run television and radio."

The incident took place while all state-run media were covering the 75th-birthday celebrations for Uzbekistan's authoritarian president, Islam Karimov.

Karimov, a former Communist Party boss, has been ruling the country for almost 25 years.