Shirin Akiner

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Shirin Akiner is a lecturer in Central Asian Studies at London University's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). She has produced many 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 she became involved in a controversy when 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 Islom Karimov of any wrongdoing.^[1] Murray called on Colin Bundy, the Director of SOAS, to take action against her for allegedly promoting falsehoods intentionally, but the latter refused, claiming that Murray's views were "unsubstantiated".

[edit] Selected publications

Violence in Andijan, 13 May 2005: An Independent Assessment, 51pp. Johns Hopkins University, Uppsala University (Sweden), 2005. ISBN 9185031089.
The Caspian:Politics, Energy, Security, 405pp. RoutledgeCurzon (UK), 2004. ISBN 0700705015.
Tajikistan: Disintegration or Reconciliation?, 95pp. Royal Institute of International Affairs (London), 2001. ISBN 1862030618.
The Formation of Kazakh Identity; From Tribe to Nation-State, 83pp. Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1995. ISBN 1-899-658-03 3.