A “training for trainers” was held on 20-21 November in Almaty, Kazakhstan within the framework of the project “Protection of human rights and legal education through the media” organized by the British Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) under support from European Commission.

The main purposes of the training were: development of trainer skills, planning and logistical arrangements, along with interactive teaching and structural analysis methodologies.

The training sessions were conducted by Vyacheslav Abramov, director of the MediaNet International Journalism Center, Kazakhstan. He is also chief editor of the human rights online portal Voice of Freedom Central Asia www.vof.kg

NANSMIT monitoring service

The Tajik government has introduced a new decree obliging journalists to pay for information obtained from officials, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

According to the document issued on November 19, journalists must pay 25 somoni (about $4.50) for each page of printed text provided by an official institution or state agency. As of January 1, the cost will be increased to 35 somoni per page.

Tajik officials say the decree was adopted on October 31 and corresponds to the newly adopted law on the mass media.

National Alliance of Independent Media Chairman Nuriddin Qarshiboev told RFE/RL the decree violates the constitution, which guarantees free access to information.

Juma Mirzo, editor in chief of the weekly «Nuri Zindagi,» told RFE/RL the decree could bankrupt all media outlets in Tajikistan.

Tajik presidential administration spokesman Mahmud Saraev rejected such criticism, saying the decree does not restrict access to information since it applies only to information requested in advance. He didn’t elaborate on that qualification.

http://www.rferl.org/content/In_Tajikistan_Free_Information_Comes_At_A_Price/1883466.html

Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan all showed significant decreases in corruption over the past year, according to a recently published worldwide survey by a Berlin-based watchdog group. The survey also showed that Armenia’s rating declined, and the rest of the Central Asian states remained near the bottom of the rankings.

Transparency International (TI), which has been measuring global corruption for over a decade, came out with its Corruption Perceptions Index for 2009 on November 17. Central Asia, according to the survey, remained a sinkhole of graft. Perhaps the only bright spot was Kazakhstan, which saw its rating rise from 2.2 in 2008 to 2.7 this year. The rating is measured on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is the most corrupt and 10 the least corrupt. The 2.7 score put Kazakhstan in 120th place of the 180 countries surveyed by TI this year.

The other former Soviet Central Asian states did not see their rankings change significantly in 2009 over their slots in previous years. Tajikistan’s rating was 2.0, Kyrgyzstan’s was 1.9 and Turkmenistan’s 1.8. Uzbekistan’s 1.7 put it just six places from the bottom of the table, in 174th place.

According to a TI statement, Kazakhstan’s improvements was linked to «government anti-corruption efforts aimed at improving conditions for foreign direct investment along with the country’s much-discussed upcoming chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.» It added, however, that «Kazakhstan’s low … score indicates that corruption remains systemic, with the most problematic areas being the judiciary, police, customs, property rights, land registration and construction projects.»

Kazakhstan’s improvement may have to do more with the type of corruption there, rather than the actual amount, said Eric McGlinchey, a Central Asia expert at George Mason University. «The Kazakhstani government is a stable, stationary bandit that extracts rents in predictable ways. Multinationals as well as local enterprises understand the rules of the game; the judiciary, police, customs, etc., are corrupt but they are predictably corrupt,» he said. «In Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, in contrast, corruption is constant. Yet the nature of this corruption is ever changing. It’s the unpredictability of this corruption that is most maddening.»

The survey gave mixed marks to countries in the Caucasus. Georgia’s ranking increased from 3.9 to 4.1, good for 66th place and the distinction of being the highest ranked country in the Caucasus and Central Asia. «There is a general consensus among Georgians and the international community that petty corruption has been reduced significantly,» the TI report said. «However, concerns remain regarding high-level corruption and on corrupt practices in the judiciary. The government should focus on promoting greater transparency and public trust in agencies with an anti-corruption role, and it should ensure that related reforms are continuously monitored and assessed.»

Azerbaijan’s ranking increased from 1.9 to 2.3 over the last year, and the country’s score might have been higher if TI had taken into account recently released data, the APA news agency in Baku quoted Fuad Alasgarov, a top anti-corruption official in the government, as saying.

«In June 2009, President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree on strengthening measures against corruption in the management of public and municipal properties. Criminal prosecution for corruption was strengthened and concrete results were achieved,» he said. TI said the improved ranking was mainly «a result of the government’s commitment to improve the business environment and increased general awareness about the importance of curbing corruption.» The report also lauded the work of local anti-corruption non-governmental organizations in Azerbaijan for raising public awareness about problems.

Armenia’s score decreased slightly over the past year, from 2.9 to 2.7. «The political and economic elite continue to exert control over the judiciary, media, business and other institutions,» TI stated.

«Continued inconsistency in implementation of anti-corruption legislation, and in meeting international obligations, as well as unwillingness of the authorities to address grand corruption are among the most critical factors that contribute to continued decrease in the country’s score,» the watchdog group added.

The improvement in the rankings of some former Soviet states was a «surprise,» said Jana Mittermaier, head of Transparency International’s Brussels office, in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. «The reasons for this could be that countries — and governments in particular — came to the conclusion that anti-corruption efforts really pay off when trying to please donors on their conditions for foreign direct investment,» she said.

Posted November 18, 2009 © Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org

Joshua Kucera, EurasiaNet

Источник: http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav111809.shtml

“The judicial power and the media” is the title of a round table held by the Tajik Union of Journalists on 13 November in Dushanbe. It was attended by representatives of courts and the media.

The meeting was organized within the framework of the project “Support to Tajikistan’s Media” implemented by the Tajik National Association of Mass Media (NANSMIT) under support of the US-based organization National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

Participants discussed the issues of interrelations between the judicial power and the media, as well as problems and perspective cooperation between the power and the press in Tajikistan.

According to Zafar Azizov, deputy chairman of the Tajik Supreme Court, one of the achievements in Tajikistan’s judicial system is the adoption of a new criminal-procedural code by the parliament. This document is very timely, and it is brought in compliance with both the Constitution and the international legal standards.

According to the new code, from now on the issues of arrest sanctions, measures of restraint and detention will be considered only by courts.

Azizov also said that many citizens cannot properly protect themselves since they are not aware of their rights. “The media can play an essential role in public awareness. Journalists should provide citizens with comprehensive and objective information”, — he added.

NANSMIT Monitoring Service

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1. JR 110 Society and the Press 6 hrs
2. JR 150 News Reporting and Writing 6 hrs
3. JR 180 Ethics in News Reporting 6 hrs
4. JR 200 Proof Reading and Editing 6 hrs
5. JR 220 Broadcast News Reporting 6 hrs
6. JR 250 Photo Journalism 6 hrs
7. JR 260 Advertising Layout/Design 6 hrs
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http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article_courses.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=23&NrIssue=25&NrSection=10

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has signed a decree that will grant amnesty to an estimated 10,000 prisoners, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

A Tajik Presidential Press Service spokespeson told journalists that the amnesty will pardon mainly convicts who were under 18 years when they committed their crimes, men and women over 55, and foreign nationals.

The amnesty was announced on the eve of Constitution Day, marked in Tajikistan on November 6. It is not clear if the action will free those considered to be political prisoners or people convicted of religious extremism.

A presidential press service spokesman said a special commission is reviewing all the cases to decide which prisoners will be granted an amnesty.

The press service did not say when it expected the prisoners to be freed from prison.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajik_President_To_Pardon_Thousands_Of_Convicted_Criminals_/1870513.htm

Kyrgyz journalist Kubanychbek Joldoshev says an attack that left him hospitalized with a concussion was politically motivated, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reports.

Joldoshev, 29, was severely beaten by three unknown assailants on November 2. He suffered head injuries and broken bones in the attack.

He told RFE/RL that the taxi he was in was stopped by police and the taxi driver taken away by them to check «to see if he was intoxicated.»

Joldoshev said as soon as the police left with the taxi driver, three men approached the taxi and started beating him.

Local police officials deny that the attack was premeditated. They claim Joldoshev was slightly drunk himself, but said the police who took the taxi driver for a checkup are being investigated.

Turgunbay Jumabaev, the chief of the Investigations Committee in Osh, told RFE/RL that the attack is being considered an act of hooliganism.

Joldoshev is a correspondent for the local newspaper «Osh Shamy» (The Torch of Osh). He used to work as a correspondent for RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service.

The chief editor of «Osh Shamy,» Turgunbay Aldakulov, told RFE/RL that he and his colleagues believe the attack is most likely connected with Joldoshev’s professional activities and should not be investigated as an act of hooliganism.

The attack on him was the seventh against a journalist in Kyrgyzstan this year.

Abduvahab Moniev, an independent Kyrgyz journalist who was severely beaten by unknown assailants earlier this summer, told RFE/RL that none of his attackers was found.

Almaz Ismanov, who represents the regional Internet resource center «Oazis,» told RFE/RL that after a local journalist was shot dead in Osh two years ago, local journalists have been reluctant to cover controversial issues.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Beaten_Kyrgyz_Journalist_Recounts_Brutal_Attack_Against_Him/1870052.htm