Shirin Akiner

Who is Shirin Akiner?

Dr Shirin Akiner is a lecturer in Central Asian Studies at London University's School of Oriental and African Studies. She produced many scholarly works, particularly on Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and is a member of editorial and advisory board of Journal of Central Asian and Caucasian Studies published by the U.S.A.K.

In 2005, human rights groups, non-governmental organizations and former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, accused her of producing a biased and "propagandist" report on the Andijan massacre in Uzbekistan, which largely absolved the government of Islam Karimov of any wrongdoing. Murray called on Colin Bundy, the director of SOAS, to take action against her for allegedly promoting falsehoods, but the latter refused on the ground that Murray's views were "unsubstantiated".