back to article GSMA politely asks Uzbekistan to free locked-up telco bods

Mobile industry body GSMA has written to Uzbekistan's president in hope of resolving the country's tiff with Russian-owned operator MTS, a dispute that cut off punters and led to the "interrogation" of staff. MTS had its Uzbekistan licence revoked in July after five employees were cuffed on suspicion of committing a variety of …

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  1. Christoph
    Devil

    If you don't like being ripped off, don't trade with Uzbekistan

    its employees have been subject to "closed-door interrogations ... without access to legal counsel, and threats of physical coercion. Other prisoners in chains are paraded in front of them as interrogators taunt: 'You're going to end up like this, in chains, if you don't sign this confession'".

    Then they're doing much better than Uzbekistani natives, who are subject to treatment like being boiled alive.

    The telco reckons it has poured almost $1.5bn into the Uzbekistan business,

    If you deal with the Devil then don't be surprised if it turns out badly for you.

    1. Mr Temporary Handle

      Re: If you don't like being ripped off, don't trade with Uzbekistan

      Or MTS...

    2. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Big Brother

      Re: If you don't like being ripped off, don't trade with Uzbekistan

      > like being boiled alive

      Err no. AFAIK, "The West", always into democracy and stuff, nicely asked him to stop boiling people alive otherwise they would have to reduce the doubtlessly merited subsidies (as he helps in providing access to Afghanistan). So he has taken to freezing people alive instead, I suppose by dunking them into liquid nitrogen?

      As for the russina telco buisness, it's bound to be a competitor to the telco run by the Prez' daughter, no? Never good. I have a first-hand account of a Russian delegation which, immediately after a telco deal went bad, actually speeded to the airport the second the door closed. Tough business environment, indeed.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Let me guess

    Didn't give Gulnara Karimova here proper entitlement!

    AC because I have been there and may want to go back some time.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Let me guess

      Excellent reviews on Amazon, the music is excellently rendered, so fresh :P

      http://www.amazon.com/Googoosha/product-reviews/B007V1VTS8/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm/189-6672548-4310710?ie=UTF8&

  3. Hollerith 1

    Since U.S. Corporations are now 'people'...

    The Supreme Court gave corporations the rights of persons when it comes to speech, so wouldn't it be nice if corporations also exercised other human behaviour, such as not doing something for money when it encourages a moral wrong. Up till now, companies have said that their duties to their shareholders requires them to target every possible market, even if that means they support corruption and cover their metaphorical hands with blood (metaphorical and real). Thanks to the Supreme Court, companies can surely now say 'no, we won't deal with such regimes--it's repulsive to expect us to; no amount of money is worth the suffering we will be supporting and, indeed, risking.'

    And now I laugh.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Since U.S. Corporations are now 'people'...

      The Supreme Court gave corporations only the rights of persons but not their obligations. They have the right but they have no obligation. Get it?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Since U.S. Corporations are now 'people'...

      Since when is MTS an US corporation?

      1. Hollerith 1

        Re: Since U.S. Corporations are now 'people'...

        I was speaking generally about companies working with morally repulsive regimes, not specifically MTS.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Since U.S. Corporations are now 'people'...

          Isle Of Man, then? ;)

  4. perlcat
    Facepalm

    @ "Since when is MTS an US corporation?"

    Forget it, he's rolling.

    "Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"

    1. sueme2
      Alert

      Re: @ "Since when is MTS an US corporation?"

      Historically inept. The German bombs were all over Europe, The Japanese bombs were in Asia/Pacific. Perhaps you are georgaphically challenged? Whichever it is, I do believe it was Japanese bombs dropped by Japenese aircraft that lit up Perl harbor ???????????

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @ "Since when is MTS an US corporation?"

        "Perl" Harbor, nice product name, but I don't think it will catch on for some reason :P

      2. David Neil
        Facepalm

        Re: @ "Since when is MTS an US corporation?"

        If you look up, that tiny little dot in the sky, that was the joke going past

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @ "Since when is MTS an US corporation?"

          Either that or a Mitsubishi Zero :P

      3. perlcat
        FAIL

        @sueme2

        You need to highlight the phrase in quotes, CTRL+C, paste into google, and see where that came from, Chester.

        Your education has been sorely neglected. I sentence you to at least six viewings of the instructional video in question.

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