Tajikistan holds parliamentary elections on 1 March and Reporters Without Borders is concerned about the toxic climate in which news organizations are forced to work in the country, noting that democratic elections cannot take place unless there is freedom of information. Читать далее ELECTIONS CANNOT BE DEMOCRATIC WITHOUT FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Архив за месяц: Февраль 2015
RSF: Elections cannot be democratic without freedom of information
REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS / REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES
Press release / Communiqué de presse
Français: http://fr.rsf.org/tadjikistan-
TAJIKISTAN
Elections cannot be democratic without freedom of information
Tajikistan holds parliamentary elections on 1 March and Reporters Without Borders is concerned about the toxic climate in which news organizations are forced to work in the country, noting that democratic elections cannot take place unless there is freedom of information.
More than 4 million voters are called to the polls to choose 63 members from among 288 candidates. Although the vote has the appearances of democracy, the dire state of freedom of information surrounding the ballot is indicative of the draconian behaviour of President Emomali Rakhmon, who has been in office since 1992. Tajikistan is ranked 116th of 180 countries in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.
“There can be no democracy without media pluralism and without free access to news and information,” Johann Bihr, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, pointed out.
“It should be noted that freedom of information continues to deteriorate in Tajikistan, to the point where it is a cause of considerable concern on the eve of the elections. We urge the authorities to ensure Tajik citizens have the right to report and receive news and information. We call on the international community to remind Dushanbe of its commitments and hold it to account for the large-scale violations of this basic democratic principle.”
Campaign marked by bullying tacticsSeveral independent journalists have told Reporters Without Borders they have received threats from the intelligence services in the weeks leading up to the vote. They have been warned in emails and text messages to “stop writing critical stories” or face public exposure of their private lives. A smear tactic that points to the existence of a vast surveillance system in the country.
Other independent journalists have been the targets of campaigns to discredit them in the official media and on social networking sites, often also using elements from their private lives. In one recent instance, a report by the State TV station TVT accused some independent news organizations of supporting the mayor of Dushanbe in exchange for benefits in kind, such as apartments or land.
In a joint statement on 16 February, the National Association of Independent Mass Media in Tajikistan (NANSMIT), the Journalists’ Union and the Media Council of Tajikistan called for an end to “attacks and moves aimed at intimidating and obstructing the professional activities of journalists”, the manipulation of the media for political ends and repeated intrusions into the private lives of independent journalists.
Media pluralism underminedGiven the lack of media pluralism, the election campaign was bound to be dull and political competition one-sided. The authorities control almost all broadcasting outlets. Three campaign spots by the opposition party Islamic Renaissance of Tajikistan were barred from the airwaves on the grounds that they were not made in one of the few officially authorised studios.
The appeal by convicted businessman Zayd Saidov, arrested and tried soon after he set up an opposition party in 2013, is being held in camera. Saidov, a former industry minister, was sentenced to 26 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of sexual offences, polygamy, and fraud and corruption.
The Asia Plus media group, which has a weekly, a news agency, a radio station, a television studio and a news website of record, is one of the few sources of independent news in Tajikistan. Access to its website has been regularly blocked inside the country in recent years. In spring last year, the weekly and its editor Olga Tutubalina were found guilty of insulting the country’s intellectuals in a farcical trial and ordered to pay the three plaintiffs 30,000 somoni (4,500 euros). The number of trials of independent journalists has risen in the run-up to the parliamentary elections
Freedom of information targeted by paranoid authoritiesThe temporary blocking of access to social networks and independent news sites has been a frequent occurrence since 2012, yet in October 2014 access to more than 200 websites was cut off for two weeks, including Facebook, Vkontakte and YouTube, as well as the main Tajik, Russian and Central Asian news sites.
Access was blocked soon after the opposition movement Group 24 announced it would hold an anti-government demonstration. It was restored a day after the event, which did not take place.
This unprecedented blackout was accompanied by drastic restrictions on telecoms networks. Text messaging was suspended for several days and Internet access was cut off completely in the northern region of Sughd.
Such disproportionate and oppressive responses stem from the authorities’ visceral fear of destabilisation, using the spectre of the civil war that tore the country apart between 1992 and 1997 to justify their fear of the opposition.
Aleksandr Sodiqov, an academic and specialist in conflict prevention arrested in June last year, has paid the price for the authorities’ paranoia. The netizen’s only offence was to have interviewed an opposition leader in the autonomous south-eastern province of Gorno-Badakhshan as part of his research. The province was the scene of violent clashes in 2012, which were shrouded in secrecy. Accused of spying, he was held in custody for a month and was released only after a massive international campaign.
NANSMIT, a partner organization of Reporters Without Borders, has published recommendations for journalists aimed at ensuring impartial and objective coverage of the elections.
Almaty Court Upholds Kazakh Journal Closure
ALMATY, Kazakhstan — A court in Kazakhstan has rejected journalist Gulzhan Erghalieva’s challenge against closure of her magazine, upholding a ruling ordering Adam Bol (Be a Human) to shut down.
Erghalieva said after the Almaty City Court’s decision was pronounced on February 26 that she has not yet decided whether she will appeal.
She said she had started a new media project, called Adam (Human), which she plans to launch on March 13.
In December, an Almaty court ordered Adam Bol to be closed for «propagating war.»
That ruling came weeks after the magazine published an interview with opposition activist Aidos Sadyqov, who lives in exile in Ukraine.
In the interview, Sadyqov lambasted Russia for its involvement in the military conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Erghalieva, whose magazine published reports on alleged corruption and rights abuses by officials, has been under pressure from the authorities for years.
http://www.rferl.org/content/almaty-court-upholds-kazakh-journal-closure/26870802.html
American Group Used ‘Dark Web,’ Bitcoin To Raise Money For IS, Says Researcher
Evidence has emerged that a group operating in the Americas has made use of the so-called «dark web» and the software-based online payment system Bitcoin to fundraise for the Islamic State (IS) group, a cyberintelligence analyst has found.
Ido Wulkan, who is based in Tel Aviv and works for Singapore-based cyber intelligence firm S2T, told RFE/RL that he has recently uncovered evidence that an anonymous group has been soliciting donations for Islamic State.
Wulkan came across a reference to the Bitcoin fundraising site when surfing the «dark web» — a collection of underground websites where users can interact anonymously — for a client. Using a technology developed by S2T, Wulkan surfed to a closed Turkish hacker site, where he says he uncovered a reference to a website calling itself an «Islamic State donation site.»
A message on the fundraising site said that those behind it were a community of Muslims, some of whom were in the United States. The site explained that the group was working with recent converts to Islam and training others to establish a new Islamic front in the U.S. and elsewhere in the Americas.
The site went on to solicit donations via Bitcoin, Wulkan told RFE/RL.
According to Wulkan, the fundraising website is the first concrete evidence that groups linked to the Islamic State group are using the dark web to raise funds.
There has, however, been other evidence that pro-Islamic State groups are using Bitcoin as a means to collect money via the mainstream Internet.
Fears that the group could do so were raised in July, after a PDF document suggesting that militants could use the software-based payment system to fund their operations was uploaded to a WordPress blog. The document, titled Bitcoin and the Charity of Violent Physical Struggle, argued that the use of Bitcoin would make it more difficult for law-enforcement authorities to track transactions made by militants and «secretly fund the Mujahedin [militants] with no legal danger upon them.»
In October, a pro-Islamic State website hosted by a Swedish server asked visitors to help support the upkeep of the site by making donations in Bitcoin.
«Many people feared that groups like [the Islamic State group] would use Bitcoin, because it’s anonymous and because it’s a good way to transfer money,» Wulkan said.
With increasing pressure on the Islamic State group on the mainstream, visible Internet — e.g. as pro-IS websites are closed and social networks like Twitter and Facebook move to ban IS-related accounts — it is possible that the militant group and its supporters could move to the dark web, Wulkan says.
«The [IS group] are losing space on the regular Internet,» he added.
As yet, militant activity on the dark web is very minor, according to Wulkan, who notes that the Bitcoin fundraising website is the first one that he has come across on the dark web dedicated solely to that purpose.
«I don’t believe that it was a fake site,» he adds, noting that the FBI has since closed down the Bitcoin account linked to the site — but not before it had managed to raise around $1,000 using Bitcoin.
That, as Wulkan points out, is a very tiny amount compared to the Islamic State group’s wealth.
However, it could indicate the start of a trend whereby groups like the Islamic State group would move to the dark web, Wulkan believes.
— Joanna Paraszczuk
http://www.rferl.org/content/islamic-state-dark-web-bitcoin/26867381.html
Jailed Azerbaijani Journalist Ismayilova Fined In Libel Case
Khadija Ismayilova, an investigative journalist and RFE/RL contributor who faces an array of charges she says are politically motivated, has been convicted of libel and fined 2,500 manats ($3,180).
Ismayilova’s lawyer, Elton Quliyev, told RFE/RL that a Baku court judge issued the ruling on February 23 at the pretrial detention center where Ismayilova has been held since December 5.
Ismayilova was found guilty of publicly calling former opposition activist Elman Hasanov an agent of the national security ministry.
She denies having made such an allegation.
Lawyer Quliyev vowed an appeal.
Ismayilova, who has reported extensively on the financial dealings of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and members of his family, was initially detained on what authorities described as suspicion of inciting an attempted suicide.
She has since been hit with new charges including embezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and abuse of power, and faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted.
Ismayilova denies any wrongdoing.
http://www.rferl.org/content/ismayilova-fined-in-a-libel-case-in-baku/26864433.html
Russian TV Outlines Scenario For Military ‘Tour’ Of Europe
Russian tanks descending on Warsaw and Berlin? Missiles lobbed at Washington and London? Such are the scenarios aired by a Russian national television program in response to suggestions that world leaders mark the defeat of Nazi Germany somewhere other than in Moscow.
In a recent segment broadcast by the St. Petersburg-based Channel 5 station, presenter Nika Strizhak and a reporter suggest sending Russian tanks, fighter jets, and nuclear missiles to Western capitals should world leaders snub Russia’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of Victory Day in May.
«It’s a very intriguing idea to move our Victory Day parade to London or Berlin. We could certainly display our tanks in Warsaw and hold a large, European tour,» Strizhak said in the February 8 broadcast of her weekly news and commentary show, Glavnoye.
The segment, an apparent stab at satire, came in response to comments by Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna last week supporting an idea to have world leaders mark the anniversary in Gdansk.
«It’s not natural that tributes marking the end of the war should be organized where the war began,» Schetyna said, according to the AP, which noted that he appeared to be referring to the secret 1939 pact between Germany and the Soviet Union to carve up Eastern Europe.
Strizhak proceeds to pass the baton to a reporter who explains the relative ease with which Russian tanks and fighter jets could reach numerous European capitals.
«Warsaw is too easy. It’s only 1,300 kilometers from Moscow to the Polish capital,» he intones as dramatic music pulsates in the background, adding that Russian tanks could make it to the Warsaw suburbs «in less than a day.»
He adds that Berlin is just 1,800 kilometers away and would be «a nice place for a friendly visit» for the May 9 Victory Day celebrations, Russia’s most revered national holiday.
«That [distance] is nothing for a modern army. Furthermore, many Russian officers know Germany pretty well. They won’t even need any maps,» he says in the report, which segues into animation showing tanks rumbling into a city as a German flag is lowered and replaced by the Russian tricolor.
«Prague, Helsinki, Vilnius, Tallinn, Riga: Those are all very close,» he adds.
The reporter then sets his sights on London and Washington, which, he notes, will require «significant advanced planning» and the involvement of the Russian Navy and Air Force.
«But there’s still time until May,» he says. «We have a big army. There’s enough for everyone and for Moscow as well.»
He ends the segment by noting «with regret» that Russia’s «Western partners» won’t be able to see the Russian military’s Iskander and Satan missiles on parade.
«Those can only be delivered from Russia by air,» he says as an animated missile, outfitted with a smiley-face decal, rises into the air.
Channel 5 is owned by the National Media Group, in which Bank Rossia owns a stake. The bank’s largest shareholder, Yury Kovalchuk, is a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has been hit with U.S. and EU sanctions over the Kremlin’s interference in Ukraine.
The EU says Bank Rossia, which has also been hit with sanctions by both Washington and Brussels, owns «important stakes in the National Media Group, which in turn controls television stations that actively support the Russian government’s policies of destabilization of Ukraine.»
— Carl Schreck
http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-tv-details-invasion-of-europe/26842837.html