Who will replace Islam Karimov as leader of Uzbekistan?

This is a pretty legitimate question at this point in time.  While Islam Karimov hasn't exactly been a good leader, nor a well received one internationally, the notion of who will replace him is a mildly terrifying one.  Given the colourful murderous/evil situation that's playing out in Syria, the wider political community really has to take notice of what's happening in Uzbekistan.

There isn't a "good" person in the picture to replace Karimov.  Actually, there's only one person in the picture and he is not what you would call a good citizen.  Murderer, criminal and national threat are more like it.

In fact, this piece of content entitled who will replace Islam Karimov as Uzbekistan's leader and why Akbar Abdullaev is now the only contender sums the situation it pretty perfectly.  Akbar Abdullaev is now the only viable candidate to replace Karimov due to both of the president's daughters bowing out (or being forced to), so without a son lined up, by virtue of family Abdullaev is in line.

He's the president's wife's sister's son and as tenuous a link to power as that may be, it makes him the leading candidate at the moment.

So why would that be bad?  What makes Abdullaev a dangerous man?
Akbar Abdullaev is a notorious playboy known for his hedonistic lifestyle as well as lavish spending, even by the standards of young oligarchs. However, he stands head and shoulders above the competition in terms of brutality.  There's a wonderful piece of content on the same website referenced above which cites: While Abdullaev avoided criminal charges over the killings of several businessmen in 2006, he shocked assorted high profile guests on his yacht by boasting about the killings at lavish parties he threw in Cannes this year.

While that may seem a little like conjecture, it is worth noting that this week Yahoo Finance reported that a law firm entitled Huntsman Lewis LLP pulled out of Uzbekistan, claiming that Akbar Abdullaev had made threats against them and their staff, as such it wasn't safe to continue operating in that region.  The law firm's website doesn't make specific mention of this, presumably they don't consider updating their website more important than the safety of their team, which is perfectly understandable.  Visit the Huntsman Lewis LLP website here (in case they release a statement on the website).

So, I urge you, don't ignore this issue.  If Akbar Abdullaev does replace Islam Karimov as leader of our fine nation, there are going to be problems.  No one knows the scale of these potential problems, but you only need to see what happened in Egypt and what is currently happening in Syria to gain a handle on what an unstable political climate can do.

Please, raise awareness.  Akbar Abdullaev is a dangerous man and should not be in a position of power.  I'm sure more people would speak out about him if they hadn't already been murdered and their businesses stolen.