Uzbek President Islam Karimov hospitalized

President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov hospitalised, the Russian media reports.

According to news agencies, Kerimov is currently hospitalised. The President undergoes a medical examination that, together with the treatment “will take time”.

Karimov is 78-years-old and he rules Uzbekistan since 1989. He is the region’s oldest leader.

No Obvious Successor

RFERL/RL publishes that he was scheduled to make a public appearance in Tashkent on September 1 at celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of Uzbekistan’s independence from the Soviet Union.

Karimov has no obvious successor, raising questions about the long-term stability of the landlocked country that has never held an election judged free and fair by international monitors.

Uzbekistan — which borders each of the other Central Asian states, as well as Afghanistan — is the most populous country in Central Asia with some 30 million people.

Karimov rose to power in 1989 when he was elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.

He declared Uzbekistan an independent nation in August 1991, as the Soviet Union headed toward collapse, and subsequently won the country’s first presidential election. He was reelected three times with around 90 percent of the votes, according to official results.

Karimov has used referendums to extend his term in office, while neutralizing the secular political opposition and eliminating all opposition media from the country.