For the first time in nearly two decades, Tajiks will be able to start their day by leafing through the pages of their own daily newspaper.

«Imruz News» (News Today), launched on Monday, is a fairly standard black-and-white, four-page newspaper that covers a broad range of issues — politics, economics, international news.

But the paper, in becoming the first Tajik daily to be published regularly since 1992, is turning modern convention on its head.

Dire financial straits wreaked havoc on many Soviet-era Tajik news publications following independence, forcing those that survived to become weeklies. Now, as media outlets worldwide struggle to reinvent themselves for an online future, «Imruz News» is taking a page from tradition and will come out five times a week.

As newspapers worldwide have killed their foreign bureaus, «Imruz News» has set up a network of correspondents placed in Tajikistan’s regions and far-flung places such as Washington, Tehran, Istanbul, as well former Soviet republics such as Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The opinion of Tajik media is that «Imruz News» won’t be struggling financially. Editors of the newspaper have said they are operating with a loan from Tajikistan’s Orienbank — controlled by Hasan Asadullozoda, a highly influential tycoon and brother-in-law of President Emomali Rahmon.
The choice of the editor in chief for the new daily, Rajabi Mirzo, was a pleasant surprise for many newspaper readers in the country. Mirzo enjoys a reputation as an experienced journalist and outspoken critic of the government and of president himself.

Mirzo’s own publication, «Ruzi Nav» (New Day), was closed down six years ago by authorities amid widespread criticism that its content had outraged officials.

Mirzo was unemployed for several years until he was offered the editor’s position at «Imruz» radio, another independent media organization widely linked to Orienbank.

Can «Imruz News,» with its experienced editor in chief and the alleged support of a powerful oligarch, be able to overcome all odds and reacquaint Tajiks with the daily newspaper?

To succeed, it will have to overcome a major obstacle that has doomed its predecessors.

First and foremost, as a daily, «Imruz News» must be able to reach its customers, well, daily. This is no easy task in Tajikistan, where the newspaper, like others, must depend on the Tajik postal service to distribute its product in the regions. The postal service, lacking funds, transport, and personnel, often takes weeks to get letters and publications to addressees.

As a result, newspapers have become a things of the past for many Tajik villagers, and considering that city dwellers have increasingly turned to the Internet for news, it’s hard to see how this daily will be able to deliver.

Farangis Najibullah, RFE/RL

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/Daily_Ambitions_Tajikistan_newspaper/2143514.html

I. I. PECULIARITIES OF POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL CLIMATE IN THE COUNTRY DEFINING THE FACTUAL SITUATION IN THE MEDIA

1. Public speeches and statements of superior officials defining the factual situation in the mass media

13 August
Abdurakhmon Abdumanonov, deputy chairman, State TV & Radio Committee under the government

The Persian service of BBC, referring to the deputy chairman of the Tajik State TV & Radio Committee reported that Tajikistan is likely to renew rebroadcasting of the Russian RTR-Planeta TV channel. The official, Abdurakhmon Abdumanonov said that the government is ready to consider this issue.

It is expected that the issue of the Russian rebroadcasting on the Tajik territory will be touched upon at the forthcoming meeting in Sochi.

The broadcasting of RTR-Planeta was terminated in early 2009 on the initiative of Dushanbe. The alleged reason was arrears of the Russian Unified TV and Radio Company – which RTR-Planeta is the part of – to the Tajik TV & Radio Committee’s technical unit.

In January, the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in his letter addressed to his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmon asked to assist in resuming the broadcasting of two Russian federal TV channels – ORT and RTR-Planeta.

2. Amendments to existing legislation and new draft laws aggravating media situation

10 August
All media, Dushanbe

“Tajik journalists should be more active in the discussion of the draft law “On printing and other mass media” in order to use the chance and improve the media legislation,” – says a statement signed by participants of a round table organized on 10 August in Dushanbe by the Tajik Union of Journalists and the National Association of Independent Mass Media (NANSMIT).

The draft law in question was developed by two parliamentarians – Olimjon Salimzoda and Akramsho Felaliev.

About 30 media professionals – both local and foreign – legal experts and diplomats accredited in Tajikistan took part in the meeting. They put forward a number of proposals to amend particular articles of the draft law. This set of suggestions will be passed to the parliament.

19 August
Jovid Mukim, professor, Tajik National University, Dushanbe

Professor of the Tajik National University Jovid Mukim in his article in the Millat weekly (#33, 18.08.2010) says that “the new draft law on the media is mainly rewritten from the old one”. The expert suggests amendments to particular articles of the law and to add new ones – concerning mainly the labor rights of media professionals and their social protection.

Mukim says that the rights of journalists are not duly protected, especially in private media. Ignoring the labor legislation, certain publishers do not provide their employees with annual leave; otherwise, journalists have only limited number of days for rest.

19 August
All media, Dushanbe

The Farazh weekly (#33, 18.08.2010) called on Tajik media professionals to join the discussion on the new draft of the media law. The Media Alliance of Tajikistan intends to develop an alternative draft law on the basis of proposals from the media community.

Kironsho Sharifzoda, chairman of the public organization “The Journalist” published his comments in Farazh sharing his thoughts about the concept of “the mass media”. The author says that the words “the mass media” came to Tajik language from Russian, and in many cases it is wrongly understood.

3. Factual situation in the media

27 August
Asia Plus weekly, Dushanbe

As of 30 August the Asia Plus weekly will be published twice a week – on Mondays and Thursdays. On Mondays the newspaper will be published under the title “Asia Plus Dushanbe”.

Marat Mamadshoev, editor of Asia Plus says that this initiative is the first step in an attempt to establish a daily newspaper. It should be noted that there have not been any dailies in Tajikistan since the early 1990-s.

However, such an attempt is not the first one; many publishers have undertaken similar things, but they all faced difficulties with dissemination of their products. The formerly existing network of newsstands has collapsed long ago; periodicals are mainly disseminated by private street vendors who come once a week to the central printing house in Dushanbe to pick up the new weeklies.

30 August
Imruz News, private newspaper, Dushanbe

Rajabi Mirzo, editor of a new Tajik newspaper “Imruz News” stated that from now on this periodical will be published on a daily basis.

Mirzo says that the new outlet is a commercial project, and, along with the main goal – to provide readers with news and analysis – the newspaper must bring profitable.

The editor noted that 80 percent of reporters working for the newspaper are young and new people making their first steps in the Tajik media environment. “They’ve studied a long while, gaining needful skills in different trainings, but now, these young people are oriented towards making a real daily media product”, — he added.

II. VIOLATION OF PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS

1. Denial of printing

5 August
Ozodagon, Paikon, SSSR, Millat, Borgohi Sukhan, Dushanbe

Umed Sattorov, manager of a printing house providing services to a number of private weeklies told their publishers that the printing equipment is out of whack, and the five newspapers – Ozodagon, Paikon, SSSR, Millat, Borgohi Sukhan – are unlikely to come off the press. (Asia Plus weekly, #31, 4.08.2010).

Eventually, the newspapers were timely printed, but the Tajik media shared a different allegation – the printing house received “an order from above” to create obstacles for the private weeklies, which criticize the government in their publications.

However, media and human rights organizations received no complaints from editors and publishers about violations of their rights.

2. Impediments to access to information

11 August
SSSR weekly, Dushanbe

Private printing media in Khatlon province complain that government officials do not invite their correspondents to important public and political events, thus giving “drawing a line” between the state and the non-government press.

According to the SSSR weekly (#32, 12.08.2010), journalists addressed their complaint to the chairman of Khatlon province Gaibullo Avzalov. The official ordered his subordinates to rectify the error, but the situation remains unchanged. The authorities do not like the independent media for criticism. Long ago, they’ve dubbed them “the opposition”, and everywhere they are seen as spies.

III. CONFLICTS. VIOLATIONS INCRIMINATED TO THE MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS

1. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation

11 August
Embassy of Uzbekistan in Dushanbe

The Embassy of Uzbekistan in Dushanbe accuses Tajik officials and certain mass media of disseminating ungrounded and false statements defaming the authorities of Uzbekistan allegedly involved in the detention of Tajikistan-bound cargoes on the Uzbek territory. (Asia Plus, #32, 11.08.2010).

“The facts prove that Uzbekistan continues to take all necessary measures ensuring unhampered transit of cargoes moving to Tajikistan. The Uzbek side fully performs its obligations, despite the difficulties emerging at particular segments of the railroad and the objective complexities related to maintenance, servicing and repair”, — the statement says.

2. Compensation for moral damage

20 August
Asia Plus weekly, Dushanbe

Ms. Salomatv Safarova took a legal action against the Asia Plus weekly demanding moral compensation in the amount of 12 thousand Somoni (about $2,700). Safarova complains that Asia Plus defamed the name of her son in a publication titled “Hunting the money changers” (#30, 30.09.09).

Editor of Asia Plus Marat Mamadshoev told NANSMIT that his newspaper has lodged a complaint against the judge S. Bobobekov because of his preconception.

3. Accusation of libel and insult

19 August
Charkhi Gardun weekly, Dushanbe

Former parliamentarian Saivali Nurov filed a charge against the Charkhi Gardun weekly (Asia Plus, #33, 18.08.2010). Nuriov was very angry at the article published on 27 July titled “Are they going to sue the parliamentarian-hooligan?” The former deputy says that the publication defames and humiliates him. He is going to put the law on the weekly on Articles 135 and 136 of the Tajik Criminal Code.

According to Akbarali Sattorov, the founder of Charkhi Gardun, the publication in question does not contain any libel or defamation. “The article only describes the fact of filing a charge against the former parliamentarian”, — he said.

This report is based on compiled materials from the media and private information presented by correspondents of the NANSMIT Monitoring Network

Coordinator of the Monitoring Service
Abdufattokh Vokhidov

Project Manager
Nuriddin Karshibaev

A major international manhunt is under way after dozens of enemies of the Tajik state broke out from prison this week, but you wouldn’t know it from the official reaction.

Among the 25 men who escaped from a high-security State Security Ministry prison on the night of August 22-23 were Tajiks convicted of planning to overthrow the government. Others had been imprisoned for terrorist and Islamic militant activities. Eleven were foreigners, including Uzbek, Afghan, and Russian citizens of North Caucasus origin.

The prison break was carried out within sight of the presidential palace and left one guard dead and another beaten up. Just hours later, in a prison belonging to the Justice Ministry within the same walled complex, four guards were killed in a firefight with the escapees.

The brazen escape has led the authorities to dispatch additional troops in an attempt to catch the fugitives before they can leave the country. Their presumed destination is Afghanistan, where some of the escapees reportedly spent time in the 1990s.
The escape has attracted the attention of outsiders, with Russia’s Federal Security Service agreeing on August 25 to help with the search operation, and Tajik authorities requesting help from Interpol and neighboring countries. Kyrgyzstan has responded by strengthening security measures along the Tajik border.

And inside the country, as Tajiks question how such a bold maneuver could be carried out without inside help, the Prosecutor-General’s Office has opened a criminal investigation and discussed whether to press charges against prison officials.

But while the escape might appear to be too close for comfort for Emomali Rahmon, the Tajik president has gone about business as usual.

On August 25, Rahmon went ahead with a scheduled trip to the southern Khatlon region, opening new schools and discussing education. And during his numerous meetings with local people, Rahmon made no mention of the escape that is on the minds of so many in Tajikistan.

High-Profile Prisoners

Upon hearing news of the prison break, speculation was rife in Dushanbe that family members of two high-profile men with ties to the government were involved.

One of these central figures is the former chief of the presidential government, Ghaffor Mirzoev, a onetime Rahmon ally who is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence on charges including uprising against the government.

The second is Mirzo Ziyoev, a former Islamic opposition commander who went on to join the government as emergency situations minister and who was killed during a mysterious military operation in the eastern Tavildara district in 2009.

The Tajik government has since provided clarity by releasing a list of the 25 wanted men and their pictures. The list indeed included the names of a brother of Mirzoev and an uncle and brother of Ziyoev. However, Mirzoev himself and two of Ziyoev’s sons who were sentenced to long prison terms in separate cases this year were not on the list.
Many of the fugitives, including Hikmat Azizov and Juma Ibrohimov, are believed to be loyal allies of Ziyoev who fought alongside him against the secular government during Tajikistan’s 1992-97 civil war.

The whereabouts of the men is unknown and details of the break sparse, with government officials reluctant to disclose any details that could hinder the ongoing investigation and search operations.

However, it is known that at least seven security checkpoints have been set up on the highway connecting the Tajik capital and the northern province of Sughd.

And RFE/RL’s Tajik Service has reported that government troops have been dispatched to the Rasht Valley, including the Tavildara district, a onetime stronghold of the Islamic opposition and birthplace of many of the fugitives.

RFE/RL’s correspondent in Rasht, Mahmud Shodi, reports that a search operation for the escaped convicts is taking place in the area, and is causing panic and fueling speculation among locals.

Challenge To Government

The “prison break of the century” is also a hot topic among insiders and experts on Tajikistan.

”Under the current circumstances in Tajikistan, it is very difficult for these men to unite under one specific aim and cause trouble for the government,” says Davlati Usmon, a former member of the Islamic opposition and former presidential candidate. “It’s very difficult but not impossible. The government, too, is concerned that they would create serious problems for authorities.”

Parviz Mullojonov, a Dushanbe-based political expert, suggests that the fugitives “have no clear support base in Tajikistan now, therefore it would be impossible for them to destabilize the country,” but that this could change if they “and other forces who oppose the government decided to cooperate.”

Andrei Grozin, the head of the Central Asian department at the Moscow-based Institute of CIS Countries, suggests that the escape puts the spotlight on widespread corruption in the Tajik prison system. Grozin does not rule out that “someone from very high position” could have been involved.

…And Serious Signal To President

Tajikistan’s security service is largely filled with people loyal to Rahmon. Many of the highest positions are held by people from the president’s native south.

But Usmon says this incident is a serious warning to the president to review his security policies.

Whatever the reason behind the prison break—corruption or the incompetence of current security officials—the president can no longer rely on these people, Usmon says.

”It’s time for the president to change his criteria for selecting security officials, and it better be based on professionalism.”

RFE/RL’s Tajik Service contributed to this report

Farangis Najibullah, RFE/RL

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajikistans_Official_Calm_Belies_Potential_Prison_Break_Crisis/2138513.

On August 26, police in Almaty detained a group of journalists and kept them at a police station for three hours without any explanation, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

The correspondents from RFE/RL and the local newspapers «Alash ainasy,» «Ush qiyan,» «Dorozhny patrul,» and «Orda KZ» were detained as they attempted to attend the trial of an alleged leader of a religious group that has been branded extremist.

The Almaly district court in Almaty is trying a leader of the NGO Senim-Bilim-Omir (Trust-Knowledge-Life), a Sufi group. No details of the case have been made public.

RFE/RL correspondent Kuanyshbek Kari says the police demanded written explanations for why the journalists wanted to attend the trial, searched their professional equipment and personal belongings, and took their pictures and fingerprints.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Kazakh_Journalists_Covering_Sufi_Trial_Briefly_Detained/2138132.html

DUSHANBE — The president of Tajikistan has asked parents of students attending religious schools abroad to bring their children back home, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

Emomali Rahmon made the call via state-run Tajik TV’s First Channel during a meeting on August 25 with residents of Farkhor district in the southern province of Khatlon, which borders Afghanistan.

The president requested that students go to study religion within Tajikistan instead, because those studying abroad «are all becoming terrorists and extremists.»

He added that there were functioning government religious schools and that it would be better that students study in these schools or be sent abroad, as long as they have the permission and regulation of the Committee for Religious Affairs.

Rahmon’s comments come as authorities continue to hunt for 25 Islamic militants who staged a brazen prison breakout in Dushanbe on August 23.

Officially, some 2,000 Tajiks are currently studying at religious schools in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, and Pakistan, though the actual number is thought to be higher.

Abdulloh Rahnamo, a theologian with the Strategic Analytical Center at the office of the president, says that he agrees with the president’s request and that it is the ideas of graduates from foreign religious schools and madrasahs that bring about religious and security problems.

«Unfortunately, experience shows that — along with the science of religion — concepts, ideology or political or religious views also develop,» Rahnamo says. «We cannot condemn any of these beliefs, thoughts, or schools of thought or political rule, however, the social environment of Tajikistan is of one religion and therefore the wanted or unwanted entrance of a non-Hanafi religion into this environment will cause a dispute.»

He adds, however, that the level of religious teaching within Tajikistan is not equal to that of foreign schools.

But independent expert Mahmud Latifi says that the attendance of Tajik students at foreign religious schools is not a problem if they are under the supervision of diplomatic representatives of Tajikistan.

He said that in all foreign countries, including Western countries, there are foreign ideas and that if Tajik students are taught to be patriotic and know themselves they will not adopt radical foreign ideas.

Tajikistan keeps a tight rein on all forms of religion, and has banned at least two religious groups that are not of the Hanafi branch of Sunni Islam — the Salafi and Jamoai Tabligh movements.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajikistan_Urges_Parents_To_Recall_Children_From_Foreign_Religious_Scho

The Tajik parliament is going to adopt the revisited version of the Law “Om printing and other mass media”. However, the local media organizations are very inactive. There are no signs of participation in discussions of the new draft law.

Would the media and journalists use this chance to voice their concerns and introduce changes? Or are they going to remain casual observers letting the bureaucrats to determine the fate of the Tajik journalism?

The full text of the article is available at: http://www.nansmit.tj/analysis/?id=87

www.nansmit.tj

Bishkek/Brussels, 23 August 2010: Without prompt, genuine and exhaustive measures to address the damage done by the pogroms, Kyrgyzstan risks another round of terrible violence.

The Pogroms in Kyrgyzstan,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, highlights the risk of spiralling violence in the south of Kyrgyzstan and the central government’s loss of control over the region. It calls for the Kyrgyz government to support an internationally backed enquiry into the pogroms which took place in May and June 2010 in Jalalabad and in Osh. It also urges the international community to form a united front in calling on the Kyrgyz government to address the root causes of the violence, and in warning the country’s leadership of the dangers of inaction and denial.

“The violence and pogroms of June have further deepened the gulf between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks”, says Paul Quinn-Judge, Crisis Group’s Central Asia Project Director. “If this problem remains unaddressed, another explosion is only a matter of time, and in the next outburst, the victimised party could look to Islamist radicals for help, or violence could spread to other ethnic groups – Russians, Uighur, Tatar or Dungan”.

Successive governments have failed to address ethnic tensions in the south or even to admit their existence. Many features of the 2010 violence strongly resemble the last round of bloody ethnic clashes, in 1990. One of the most striking differences, however, is that twenty years ago, a large number of elite Soviet troops were deployed in the region for six months to normalise the situation. This time, a weaker government facing a greater challenge has refused any external help, unrealistically arguing that it can handle the situation itself. In fact, the government has now lost control of a significant part of southern Kyrgyzstan, where the mayor of Osh, Melis Myrzakmatov, publicly rejects the president’s authority.

The Kyrgyz government should take a strong public stand against positions of extreme nationalism by prominent national and regional politicians. The government of Kyrgyzstan, as well as donors and supporters, should support a full, open and internationally backed enquiry into the recent pogroms.

Given the weakness of the Kyrgyz government, responsibility rests upon the shoulders of the international community. It should play a more forthright role than usual in raising the long-term dangers to Kyrgyzstan of extremism, the need to restore the central government’s political control over the city of Osh, and the urgent necessity of reconciliation between ethnic communities. It also needs to draw up a blueprint for establishing a long-term modus vivendi between the majority Kyrgyz and ethnic minorities, Uzbeks and others. This should include a unified strategy for the reconstruction of the south, involving extensive on-the-ground monitoring, the recognition of cultural sensitivities and the need to avoid worsening conflict risks.

“If the south remains outside of central control, there is a strong risk that the narcotics trade, already an important factor, could extend its power still further”, says Robert Templer, Crisis Group’s Asia Program Director. “Without decisive action by the international community, the region could also quickly become a welcoming environment for Islamist guerrillas”.

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*Read the full Crisis Group report on our website: http://www.crisisgroup.org
Andrew Stroehlein (Brussels) +32 (0) 2 541 1635
Kimberly Abbott (Washington) +1 202 785 1602

http://www.crisisgroup.org

This distance learning journalism course is open to media professionals and bloggers from Central Asia. Participation is free of charge and applications are being accepted from media professionals and citizen journalists from any of the countries of Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan).

Citizens of those countries who are currently residing outside of their respective country are also invited to apply. Deadline: September 20th, 2010For more information or to apply, go to: http://training.tol.org

http://training.tol.org

KYRGYZSTAN: Call for humane treatment for jailed journalists and respect for press charter

Reporters Without Borders is shocked by the way the authorities are treating Ulugbek Abdusalomov, a newspaper editor based in the southern city of Jalal-Abad who has been held since June’s inter-ethnic violence and who is currently hospitalised with serious cardiac problems. He is being kept handcuffed and under constant police surveillance in the hospital.

The editor of the independent Uzbek-language newspaper Diydo, Abdusalomov was arrested on 14 June and was charged on 10 August under four articles of the criminal code with extremism, inciting inter-ethnic hatred, organising and participating in mass unrest, and separatist activities aimed at destroying the state’s territorial integrity. Regarded by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience, he is facing 3 to 12 years in prison if convicted.

The victim of a stroke two years ago, Abdusalomov suffers from hypertension and cardiac and intestinal ailments, which need constant medication. But the authorities transferred him to Jalal-Abad prison where the conditions are inappropriate for a seriously ill person, despite his lawyer’s repeated requests for a transfer to house arrest on medical grounds. This is his third spell in hospital since his arrest.

Because Abdusalomov referred to the problems experienced by the Uzbek minority during the weeks preceding last June’s riots and clashes in the south, the government accused him of being linked to the Uzbek protest movement and being responsible for the clashes with the Kyrgyz population.

Similar charges were brought on 13 August against Azimzhan Askarov, a reporter for the news website Pravo Dlia Vsekh (Rights for All) and head of the local human rights group Vosdukh, who was also arrested in Jalal-Abad in mid-June and who, like, Abdusalomov, is regarded by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience.

An outspoken critic of human rights violations and police abuses in Jalal-Abad and the humanitarian crisis in the south, Askarov was accused of inciting demonstrators to violence during the unrest on 13 June in which a policeman was killed.

Askarov has been beaten in detention and, according to witnesses, is covered with bruises. The Ferghana.ru news website reported that his lawyer was also attacked as he was going to the prison to visit him. The authorities have nonetheless refused to order an investigation into the mistreatment of Askarov and his lawyer.

The charges brought against these two journalists are typical of the current persecution of active members of the Uzbek community by the authorities. The security services investigating the June clashes are targeting human rights activists, journalists and civil society representatives for harassment, arrest and often mistreatment.

Reporters Without Borders urges the authorities to improve the conditions in which Abdusalomov is being held and to ensure he gets the necessary medical care. If the authorities insist on keeping him in detention, he should be placed under house arrest because his state of health is not compatible with prison detention. Askarov should be released conditionally because he is not safe in prison.

Reporters Without Borders also urges reporters and editors to act in a professional manner and to refrain from taking partisan positions. After hailing all of the news media’s adoption of a charter on ethical principles for journalists and media on 21 May, Reporters Without Borders stresses the importance of adhering to it.

Sakhira Nazarova, a freelance reporter based in the southern city of Osh who was one of the first to sign the charter, said the media were guilty of excesses during the inter-ethnic violence. “Ethnic affiliation was constantly mentioned in articles regardless of whether it was a decisive factor and some of the quotes just fuelled the anger between the two sides,” she said.

Here are some of the charter’s principles:
— We undertake to refrain from mentioning a person’s or group of persons’ ethnic affiliation.
— We know and we keep in mind that the real reasons for a clash are linked to political, social and economic interests and not ethnic affiliation.
— We realise that, in a society, the media can contribute to the spread of information based on ethnicity and ideology… We will not use stereotypes and clichés that could hurt an ethnic group.

English:http://en.rsf.org/kyrgyzstan-call-for-humane-treatment-for-19-08-2010,38179.html
French:http://fr.rsf.org/kirghizistan-pour-un-traitement-humain-des-19-08-2010,38178.html

http://en.rsf.org/kyrgyzstan-call-for-humane-treatment-for-19-08-2010,38179.html

The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has expressed concern over two ethnic Uzbek journalists held in detention since the ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan’s southern city of Jalal-Abad in June, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reports.

RSF said in a press release that Ulugbek Abdusalomov, editor of the independent newspaper «Diydo,» faces charges of extremism, inciting interethnic hatred, organizing and participating in mass unrest, and separatism.

He has been transferred to a prison hospital with heart problems, where he is under constant police surveillance.

Azimzhan Askarov, a reporter for the website «Rights For All,» has been charged with inciting demonstrators to violence. He has allegedly been beaten in detention.

Amnesty International has designated both men prisoners of conscience.

At least 379 people were killed and hundreds of thousands fled their homes during clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in the southern regions of Osh and Jalal-Abad from June 10-14.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Rights_Group_Concerned_About_Jailed_Ethnic_Uzbek_Journalists/2133294.ht