[2] On 20 September 2006, Marat Khalturdiev, the head of the National Security Service's regional branch, described Karimov's disappearance as "a private affair" and said nothing more.
Elin Jonsson, a freelance Swedish journalist who specializes in Central Asian affairs, who knew both Karimov and Khaidarov, said that earlier in the year they had told her they were worried about their safety, and that they were going to try to get a visa for Sweden.
[4][5] The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the government to release Karimov and Khaidarov immediately and end harassment of their families.
[6] Karimov was eventually released from hospital around the time of a visit to Tashkent by the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, in October 2011.
[8] As of May 2012[update], Jamshid Karimov's whereabouts remained unknown, and campaigning organisations such as Reporters Without Borders suggested that he might be among a dozen Uzbek journalists currently in prison or other forms of detention.