REPORTERS SANS FRONTIERES/ REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS
COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE/ PRESS RELEASE
29.06.2011

Français : http://fr.rsf.org/tadjikistan-le-correspondant-de-la-bbc-29-06-2011,40548.html
English : http://en.rsf.org/tadjikistan-worldwide-call-for-bbc-29-06-2011,40553.html

TAJIKISTAN : Worldwide call for BBC correspondent’s release

Reporters Without Borders today joined a renewed call by BBC staff worldwide today for the immediate and unconditional release of the BBC’s correspondent in Tajikistan, Urinboy Usmonov, who has been held since 13 June in the northwestern town of Kujand and said it was very concerned about his plight.
“The apparent dropping of the charge of belonging to an illegal political party, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, shows how very flimsy the accusations against him are,” the organisation said. “The authorities are now trying to save face. The new charges against him are groundless and also serious violations of media freedom.”

Usmonov’s lawyer, Faiziniso Vohidova, said the dropping of the charge indicated that the GNKB secret police did not have enough evidence. But he still faces accusations of not informing the authorities of his journalistic contacts with the party and of reporting its statements. Usmonov has all the official accreditation he needs to do his job. Vohidova noted that a journalist is “not obliged to tell the authorities of his investigations, which would violate the principle of the privacy of sources.” The only “evidence” against him were a few books and documents of the party found on his computer.

“As we said when he was arrested, having this material and the fact that he met two party members was part of his normal journalistic work of investigating the party, “ Reporters Without Borders said.

Vohidova and the head of the BBC’s central Asian service, Hamid Ismoilov, saw how physically and psychologically fragile he was when they visited him in prison. “Even if he has been allowed to see a doctor since he was switched to preventive detention, his state of health is worrying,” the lawyer said.

Usmonov, 59, has diabetes and heart problems and friends say he has been ill-treated. “We don’t know exactly what happened on the night he was arrested,” said Vohidova, who has only been allowed to meet him in the presence of the investigating judge. She said she was hoping to see him alone in the next few days.

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TADJIKISTAN : Le correspondant de la BBC toujours en détention
Pour la deuxième semaine consécutive, le personnel de la BBC se mobilise aujourd’hui, à Londres et dans le monde, pour demander la libération de son correspondant Ourinboï Ousmonov, détenu à Khujand depuis le 13 juin 2011. Reporters sans frontières se joint à eux pour exiger une nouvelle fois la libération immédiate et sans conditions du journaliste. Les derniers développements dans cette affaire n’ont fait que renforcer les inquiétudes et les doutes sur la nature des accusations portées contre lui.
“L’abandon apparent du chef d’inculpation d’appartenance à une organisation interdite, s’il est confirmé, démontre de manière criante la légèreté du dossier d’accusation, a déclaré Reporters sans frontières. Les services de sécurité et la justice cherchent désormais à sauver la face. Les nouvelles accusations portées contre le journaliste sont irrecevables et constituent en elles-mêmes de graves violations de la liberté de la presse”.

Selon l’avocate d’Ourinboï Ousmonov, Faiziniso Vohidova, l’accusation d’appartenance au parti Hizb-ut-Tahrir aurait en effet été abandonnée, ce qui confirmerait que les services de sécurité (GKNB) ne sont pas en possession de preuves justifiant la détention du journaliste. Néanmoins, l’enquête continuerait et le journaliste resterait poursuivi pour ne pas avoir fait état aux autorités de ses contacts professionnels avec le parti interdit, et pour avoir publié des informations qui en émanent.Ourinboï Ousmonov disposait de toutes les accréditations nécessaires pour son travail. De plus, “un journaliste n’est pas obligé d’informer les autorités de ses recherches, ce serait contraire au principe de protection des sources”, souligne Mme Vohidova. Les seules “preuves” retenues contre lui seraient quelques livres et des documents du Hizb-ut-Tahrir retrouvés sur son ordinateur. “Comme nous l’avons souligné au moment de son arrestation, la possession de ces documents et la rencontre avec deux membres de Hizb-ut-Tahrir par Ourinboï Ousmonov participaient de son travail d’investigation sur le parti”, a rappelé Reporters sans frontières.

Faiziniso Vohidova et le directeur du service centre-asiatique de la BBC, Hamid Ismoilov, ont pu se rendre compte de la fragilité de son état physique et psychologique lors de récentes visites au centre de détention. “Même s’il a pu voir un médecin depuis son transfert en détention préventive, son état de santé est préoccupant”, a confirmé l’avocate à Reporters sans frontières. Âgé de 59 ans, Ourinboï Ousmonov souffre de diabète et de problèmes de coeur. Certains proches du journaliste font même état de mauvais traitements. “Ce qui s’est passé la nuit de son arrestation, du 13 au 14 juin, reste incertain” d’après son avocate, qui n’a pu le rencontrer qu’en présence du juge d’instruction. Elle espère pouvoir s’entretenir avec lui seul à seul dans la semaine.

—
Johann Bihr (Йоханн Бир)
Reporters sans frontières / Reporters Without Borders

Bureau Europe & Asie centrale / Europe & Central Asia Desk

T : + 33 1 44 83 84 67F : + 33 1 45 23 11 51
Skype : europarsf

500jours.soutienherveetstephane.org

http://en.rsf.org/tadjikistan-worldwide-call-for-bbc-29-06-2011,40553.html

ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Jailed Kazakh journalist Ramazan Esergepov has been named a recipient of a Hellman-Hammett Grant for 2011, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

Esergepov’s wife, Raushan Esergepova, told RFE/RL about the award on June 28.

Esergepov, the founder and chief editor of the Almaty-based Alma-Ata Info, was sentenced in August 2009 to three years in prison for revealing state secrets in his newspaper in 2008.

He protested the verdict, saying it was politically motivated. His requests for parole and transfer from a prison to a labor colony were denied. Esergepov’s newspaper was closed down after his arrest.

The Hellman-Hammett Grants are administered by Human Rights Watch and awarded to writers and journalists who have been subjected to political persecution and are in financial need.

Esergepov is the third Kazakh to receive such a grant.

http://www.rferl.org/content/jailed_kazakh_journalist_awarded_grant_by_rights_group/24249472.html

KHUJAND, Tajikistan — The lawyer for detained BBC journalist Urunboy Usmonov says she expects the charge of belonging to a banned Islamic organization will be dropped by Tajik authorities, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

Lawyer Fayziniso Vohidova told RFE/RL on June 28 that she thinks Usmonov will only be charged with failing to inform officials that he met with members of the banned Islamic organization Hizb ut-Tahrir and took leaflets and other literature from them.

She said she thinks the charge of membership in Hizb ut-Tahrir will be dropped.

Vohidova stressed that Usmonov — a correspondent for the BBC’s Uzbek Service who was arrested by police on June 13 — was legally accredited in Tajikistan and complied with all legal requirements.

She noted that under Tajik law, a journalist is entitled to remain silent in order to protect his sources.

Hamid Ismoilov, the head of the BBC’s Central Asian Service, met briefly with Usmonov in Khujand on June 27.

Ismoilov told RFE/RL that Usmonov appeared depressed. He rejected the charges against him and insists he did not exceed his responsibilities as a journalist.

Ismoilov hopes Usmonov — who has worked for the BBC in Tajikistan for 10 years — will be released soon and all charges against him dropped.

Nuriddin Qarshiboev, the head of the National Association of Tajikistan’s Independent Media, told RFE/RL that it is good news that the authorities will drop the charge of membership in Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Qarshiboev said he hopes the investigation will be conducted in line with international standards and all accusations against Usmonov will soon be dismissed.

Usmonov’s detention on June 13 elicited statements of concern from human rights organizations and from the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe.

Hungary raised the issue of Usmonov’s arrest on June 23 at the weekly meeting in Vienna of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Nuriddin Shamsov, who heads the Tajik delegation to the OSCE, said that according to the Tajik Interior Ministry, Usmanov joined Hizb ut-Tahrir in 2009 and has been actively involved in propaganda, distributing extremist materials, recruiting new members through social networks, and calling for the overthrow of the government.

Shamsov added that Usmonov can be held legally in detention for two months after the issue of the arrest warrant. He said officials deny that Usmonov’s detention was connected with his professional activities.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajik_officials_may_lessen_charges_against_detained_bbc_reporter/242495

DUSHANBE — The head of Tajikistan’s Council of Islamic Scholars says a special Islamic education program for children is being planned to quell criticism of a draft law banning children from entering a mosque, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

Saidmukarram Abdulqodirzoda said he hopes that once the program — which is being developed by the Education Ministry and religious institutions — is approved, Islamic courses for children over the age of 7 will be opened in all main mosques, and any child will be able to participate.

The proposed new program is intended to counter international criticism of the Parental Responsibility Law proposed in December by President Emomali Rahmon.

That law bans children under the age of 18 from attending regular Friday Prayers in mosques, and holds parents of underage children caught attending Friday Prayers legally responsible for allowing them to do so.

The controversial law allows children and teenagers who study at religious schools to attend mosques freely and join religious associations. All other teenagers may pray at mosques only on religious festivals and at funerals.

Prominent Tajik religious leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda has criticized the law, telling RFE/RL it is «openly against the will of God.»

Tajik Ambassador to the OSCE Nuriddin Shamsov told a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on June 23 that the draft law was published for nationwide discussion.

Some 30,000 people have submitted comments and 4,000 have endorsed the draft unequivocally, RFE/RL reports. Not a single change was made to the draft bill before the lower chamber of parliament passed it on June 15. The upper chamber has not yet voted on it and it also needs Rahmon’s signature to become law.

Shamsov stressed on June 23, in response to a statement by the U.S. delegation to the OSCE, that Tajikistan still faces serious security challenges from its southern neighbors, including terrorism and religious extremism.

He said the Tajik government seeks to uphold secular values and protect the younger generation from falling prey to violent Islamic extremism and radicalization.

Shamsov said that is why the proposed law banning young people from attending Friday Prayers is being considered — as a means to «protect children» from what he called «the growing religious pressure» they have been subjected to in recent years.

28http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan_children_mosque_ban_islamic_courses/24248140.html

TASHKENT — Two Uzbek journalists have been temporarily detained and fined after trying to begin a hunger strike outside the presidential palace in the capital to protest media censorship, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reports.

The detentions and punishment came as Uzbekistan officially marked Day of Media Workers on June 27.

A Tashkent district court fined Malohat Eshonqulova and Saodat Omonova 2.94 million soms (about $1,500) after their detention for holding an unauthorized protest earlier in the day.

Eshonqulova and Omonova were fired in December from the state television channel Yoshlar (Youth), three days after staging a protest on Tashkent’s main square against media censorship.

They filed a lawsuit against the management of Yoshlar, but on May 31 a district court for civil cases ruled in favor of the state TV channel, saying that the dismissal of the two journalists was done legally. The women have filed an appeal against that verdict.

Eshonqulova told RFE/RL that since May 2 they have addressed 56 letters to Uzbek President Islam Karimov detailing censorship at Yoshlar and requesting a meeting with him.

She said on June 27 that the she and Omonova held up placards during their protest the same day that read, «Dear Islam Karimov, please grant us an audience,» and, «We declare a hunger strike.»

Eshonqulova said that after two minutes they were approached by four men who told them to get into a car that took them to the Yakkasaroy police department in Tashkent.

She said they were forced to write an explanation of their actions for the police before being taken to a court and fined.

http://www.rferl.org/content/uzbek_female_journalists_fined_protesting_censorship/24248378.html

Deadline:09/01/12
Liberty Media

Journalists who cover society and economics can apply for an award.

The Media for Liberty Award is open to journalists who work on societal issues, economies, political structures and cultures that illustrate their pursuit of a free market environment and civil liberties uninfluenced by government agenda.

The most outstanding entry receives a US$50,000 prize.

Sample topics include but are not limited to: government involvement in private enterprise, dependence on foreign oil, access to healthcare, sovereign debt, basic goods (food, housing, healthcare) becoming prohibitively expensive for middle-class consumers and the cost of globalization from a societal, cultural, economic perspective.

Entries must be published or transmitted via print or electronic media between January 1 and December 31, 2011. Eligible media outlets must be generally recognized in their markets and accessible to a broad audience in the United States.

Prize sponsors Liberty Media seek to acknowledge and encourage media contributions that explore the relationship between economic and political liberty.

For more information, click here: http://www.libertymedia.com/media-for-liberty-award.aspx

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/media-liberty-journalism-award-open-worldwide

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic has voiced concern about a resolution passed by Kyrgyzstan’s parliament last week calling for the banning of a news website.

Mijatovic said a ban on the fergana.ru website and other similar recent measures could potentially limit media pluralism in the country.

In its resolution last week, parliament accused fergana.ru of «igniting ethnic hatred» between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz and said it should be blocked.

Mijatovic said such legal initiatives «will negatively affect media coverage of important issues» just before a Kyrgyzstan presidential election due this autumn.

http://www.rferl.org/content/osce_urges_kyrgyzstan_parliament_reconsider_restrictions_media/24241707

Dushanbe, 20 June 2011 — European Union Embassies are deeply concerned by reports that a BBC journalist, Urunboi Usmonov, was detained on 13 June and maltreated by security authorities in Khujand. We understand that he has subsequently been charged as a member of “Hizb-ut-Tahrir”. We call on the Tajik authorities to fully investigate the claims of maltreatment of Mr Usmonov. We are also concerned that due legal process has not been correctly adhered to since Mr Usmonov was detained.

The European Union continue to stress the importance of media freedom in Tajikistan; and whilst recognising the efforts of the Tajik Government in ensuring stability and security within the country, would continue to urge the Tajik authorities to adhere to transparent international judicial standards.

The European Union, composed of 27 Member States, is the world’s biggest aid donor. The total value of EU assistance disbursed to Tajikistan since 1992 is over ?500 million.

For further information you may contact Ms. Mahbuba Abdullaeva in the Delegation of the European Union in Tajikistan at tel: +992 (37) 2217407 or e-mail: Mahbuba.Abdullaeva@eeas.europa.eu

www.deltjk.ec.europa.eu

The lawyer for a BBC reporter in Tajikistan charged with membership in a banned Islamic radical group says investigators are denying her access to her client. Colleagues say the veteran journalist was arrested to silence his critical reporting, marking the latest attack on independent media in Tajikistan.

Fayziniso Vohidova says she has not been allowed to see BBC Uzbek Service correspondent Urinboy Usmonov, 59, since he disappeared on June 13. Two days later, investigators took him home to search for evidence. Family members present say Usmonov appears to have been beaten.
Vohidova told EurasiaNet.org on June 20 that Usmonov has been officially charged with inciting religious and racial hatred, participating in an organized criminal group, and extremism. She explained that authorities can legally keep him in custody for up to 18 months before a trial, while the investigation is underway.
Authorities in Khujand say Usmonov is a member of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a group that seeks to establish an Islamic state in Central Asia, but which is avowedly non-violent. “For a long time Usmonov maintained contacts with party representatives in Tajikistan and abroad; he actively participated in the preparation and dissemination of printed materials promoting Hizb-ut-Tahrir’s ideas on the forcible seizure of power and changing of the constitutional regime,” said a June 18 statement from the State Security Service, Tajikistan’s KGB-successor agency.
Usmonov’s colleagues and media rights activists insist he was arrested because of his critical voice. For years he has reported on the authorities’ efforts to silence expressions of Islam. Tajikistan has jailed over 500 people for membership in Hizb-ut-Tahrir in the past ten years, according to a count published by the AFP news agency; 40 have already been convicted this year. Media rights activists say Usmonov’s reporting would easily explain any radical literature that might have been found on him.
“There is little doubt that Usmonov was arrested because of his journalistic activities. Using the fight against extremism in order to crack down on dissidents is standard practice in Tajikistan,” said Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based watchdog, in a June 17 statement.
“People who have received leaflets should not be confused with the activists who distribute them. Being aware of press releases and statements is an integral part of a journalist’s work,” RSF added.
American and British diplomats in Dushanbe have also voiced concern.
Usmonov, an ethnic Uzbek, has also reported critically on Dushanbe’s controversial plans to build the world’s tallest hydroelectric dam, Rogun, a move that has aggravated relations with neighboring Uzbekistan and seen the Uzbek minority face increasing pressure inside Tajikistan.
“The law enforcement authorities once again have justified their poor image by holding a citizen in custody without providing him access to legal assistance,” Nuriddin Karshibaev, chairman of the Tajik National Association of Independent Media (NANSMIT), told EurasiaNet.org.
“NANSMIT demands a thorough investigation of Usmonov’s arrest and detention. As for his alleged affiliation to an illicit extremist movement, an inquiry must be conducted according to both national legislation and international practices,” Karshibaev added.
A police colonel in Dushanbe agrees that authorities have made a mistake by not granting Usmonov access to counsel, but underscored that Usmonov’s affiliation with a foreign organization does not make him above the law.
“Usmonov’s professional affiliation to BBC, the famous international news outlet, does not automatically ensure him immunity. The law enforcement authorities have made a serious mistake failing or not willing to provide him with a lawyer. But only an investigation can demonstrate the journalist’s involvement in extremist activities or otherwise prove his innocence,” the colonel told EurasiaNet.org on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media.
Besides frequent and financially debilitating libel lawsuits brought by government officials against independent media, physical harassment of journalists is common in Tajikistan.
Since November 2010, journalist Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov has been held in detention in Khujand, ostensibly for criticizing law enforcement bodies and exposing corruption. In February, Hikmatulloh Saifullohzoda, editor of the opposition Najot newspaper and the press secretary for the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, was brutally attacked outside his home. He connected the “assassination attempt” with his work.

Editor’s note:
Konstantin Parshin is a freelance writer based in Tajikistan

Konstantin Parshin, EurasiaNet.org

Источник: http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63704