torture "institutionalized, systematic, and rampant" in Uzbekistan's judicial system. For several years, Parade magazine selected Karimov as one of the world's worst dictators, citing his tactics of torture, media censorship and fake elections. Karimov's Party apparatus gained effective control over the media during the immediate independence period. Because of a poor human rights and democratization record, the Karimov administration worked to improve its image by allowing broadcasts from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. A tarnished record had harmed the efforts to gain greater access to developmental aid and foreign investment. According to the Uzbek Constitution freedom of expression in the media is nominally guaranteed; Article 67 explicitly states, "Censorship is not permitted." However, under the Karimov government, all media publications had to be "held accountable for the reliability" of the information released. This "accountability" actually introduces an opportunity for government censorship, as the definition of "accountability" was left to the Karimov and now is left to the successive Presidential administration's discretion. Article 29 states that all freedom of media expression is to be allowed with the exceptions of releasing state secrets and statements against the Constitution. The printed media of Uzbekistan has a high number of publications, but is dominated by three: Khalq Sozi, its Russian edition Narodnoye Slovo, and another Russian-language publication, Pravda Vostoka. The state owns almost all media, and the State Control Inspecorate, located in Tashkent, secures tight editorial control. Topics deemed "sensitive" are not considered for publishing. A ban is in place that prevents publications that give space to "unregistered opinions". Arrests of journalists have been documented in Tashkent and Samarkand. As a propaganda tool, the state strictly controls the tone and subject material of all published works. State censors give preference to works that provide a positive, uplifting ideology to its readers. Criticism that passes the censors is limited to low and mid-level officers. Although the Karimov regime during the 1990s assumed a greater tolerance for foreign media, the state has heavily limited foreign publications during the past decade. There has been a considerable reduction of Russian-sponsored broadcasting, and Western media has diminished in publication as well. Banned publications under the Karimov administration included Mustaqil Haftalik and Erk, the respective publications of the Birilik and Erk opposition parties. The Karimov government charged each publication on the grounds of being "disloyal to the current regime". In December 1995, Karimov was quoted in describing local journalists as "toothless".