Two journalists were free men today at the end of separate trials in the northwestern city of Khujand which Reporters Without Borders had been following closely, but both were convicted on charges directly related to their work.

“We are relieved that the authorities have finally released Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov, who had been held in solitary confinement for nearly a year without a thought for his state of health,” Reporters Without Borders said. “But his sentence, like Urinboy Usmonov’s, is unacceptable. These two journalists have already paid too high a price for their independence. They should have been acquitted and even compensated. We fully support their decision to appeal to Tajikistan’s supreme court.”

A correspondent for the newspapers Nuri Zindagi and Istiklol, Ismoilov had been detained since November 2010 in connection with his coverage of alleged corruption by local officials. He was acquitted of embezzlement but was sentenced to a fine of 35,000 somoni (5,400 euros) and a three-year ban on working as a journalist on charges of libel, insult and inciting hatred.

Usmonov, a reporter of the BBC’s Uzbek-language service, was arrested for being in contact with the outlawed Islamist party Hizb-ut-Tahrir in June after covering the trials of several of its members at the BBC’s request. Detained and tortured for a month, he was released conditionally under international pressure. He was sentenced today to three years in prison but was granted an immediate “pardon.”

“Pressure from media freedom organizations in Tajikistan and abroad have had an effect,” Reporters Without Borders added. “But the sentences passed on Ismoilov and Usmonov were harsh and were intended to intimidate all of Tajikistan’s journalists. The judicial system has just saved face. These hypocritical trials have failed to demonstrate its independence.”

Tajikistan is ranked 115th out of 178 countries in the latest Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. Respect for media freedom is deteriorating rapidly amid an economic crisis and a government “war on terror.”

http://en.rsf.org/tajikistan-two-journalists-convicted-but-free-14-10-2011,41203.html