The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, welcomed today the release from custody of two Tajik journalists convicted on charges resulting from their professional activities, and called for their acquittal.

“I am relieved that Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov and Urunboi Usmonov were released from custody. However, I remain concerned that they were convicted on criminal charges. Both journalists were sentenced for their independent reporting on issues of public interest and I hope their appeals will be successful and they will be soon cleared of all charges,” said Mijatović.

On 14 October, a court in the northern city of Khojand found Ismoilov, a reporter with the Nuri Zindagi weekly, guilty of criminal libel, insult, extortion and inciting to “regional hatred.” He was sentenced to a 5,400-euro fine and a 3-year professional ban. The court also ruled that Ismoilov, who had been in custody since November 2010, be set free immediately.

Also on 14 October, another court in northern Sugdh Province sentenced BBC reporter Usmonov to 3 years in jail on charges of participation in the activities of a banned organization and ruled that he be amnestied.

Both journalists deny the accusations levelled against them and say they will appeal the verdicts.

“I will continue to follow the cases of Ismoilov and Usmonov and I remain hopeful that they will soon be able to resume their professional activities.”

“I very much look forward to my upcoming visit to Dushanbe to meet with government officials, civil society and media,” concluded Mijatović.

VIENNA, 17 October 2011

http://www.osce.org/ru/fom/83979

New York, October 14, 2011-The Committee to Protect Journalists is relieved by today’s release of two Tajik journalists, but condemns their convictions on extremism and insult, among other charges, and calls for the quashing of the convictions on appeal.

The Sogd Regional Court in northern Tajikistan convicted BBC correspondent Urinboy Usmonov on charges of failing to report to the authorities the activities of the banned Islamist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir, and sentenced him to three years in jail, the independent news website ASIA-Plus reported. The court amnestied the journalist and released him after the verdict, the BBC reported.

A court in the city of Khujand declared Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov, a reporter with the independent weekly Nuri Zindagi, guilty on separate counts of extortion, insult, and incitement to regional hostility through mass media, and ordered him to pay 35,000 somoni (about US$7,200) in damages to the government officials he allegedly insulted, the Tajik service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. The court also banned the journalist from practicing journalism for three years. He was released from custody.

«We are pleased by the release of Urinboy Usmonov and Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov, but are still concerned by their guilty verdicts and call for their convictions to be quashed,» said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova. «Both journalists must be allowed to report freely, and Ismoilov’s ban on journalism must be overturned.»

Usmonov reported on Hizb-ut-Tahrir activities in Tajikistan for the BBC, which the broadcaster confirmed in a statement after the journalist’s arrest on June 13 on extremism charges. Facing international outcry, Tajik authorities released Usmonov in July, but put him on trial a month later.

Ismoilov was tried in connection with an August 2010 article he wrote for Nuri Zindagi, in which he criticized local government officials for corruption, abuse of office, and mismanagement of funds. Regional prosecutors opened a criminal case against him on charges that included defamation, insult, extortion, and incitement to hatred. He was arrested in November, and faced 16 years in jail.

Usmonov and Ismoilov protested the verdicts, and said they plan to appeal them in higher courts, the regional press reported. Both journalists have been prosecuted on politically motivated charges in retaliation for their work, CPJ research shows.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization
that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.

Press release/ Communiqué de presse

14.10.2011

TAJIKISTAN: Two journalists convicted but free men after trials

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.”

DUSHANBE — A court in Tajikistan’s northern town of Khujand has freed a journalist who was facing 16 years imprisonment on charges related to his professional activities.

The court, however, barred Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov from journalistic work for three years, and ordered him to pay the equivalent of $7,100 for causing moral damages.

Ismoilov indicated that he will appeal the court’s decision, which was made on October 14.

«I am not entirely happy with this verdict,» he said. «Why do they fine me? What for? Why do they bar me from journalistic activities for three years? Can they silence the mass media? That is not the right thing to do. We serve the people, and therefore our work benefits the government. We were fighting against the prosecutors.»

The 51-year-old reporter for «Nuri Zindagi» («Light of Light), a local weekly in the northern Asht district had been charged with criminal libel and insulting public officials, extortion, and incitement of «regional hatred.» He had been in pretrial detention since November 2010.

Media rights groups maintained that Ismoilov was targeted for criticizing local authorities.

Ismoilov’s case has prompted international condemnations and calls for his immediate release.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has said a harsh verdict on Ismoilov would have an «enormous chilling effect» on all other journalists in Tajikistan.

Ismoilov’s case has also garnered attention because it has run at the same time as the trial of a BBC journalist, Urunboy Usmonov, who is accused of ties to a banned Islamist group in a case in which authorities have already acknowledged irregularities.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajik_journalist_ismoilov_freed_fined/24359816.html

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

KHUJAND, Tajikistan — A BBC reporter in the northern Tajik province of Sughd has been sentenced to three years imprisonment — but set free under an amnesty law, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

On October 14, Urunboy Usmonov was found guilty of failing to inform the authorities about his contacts with the banned Islamic organization, Hizb ut-Tahrir. The journalist denies the charges and is expected to appeal the verdict.

Usmonov said he was tortured during his monthlong pretrial detention this summer.

The 59-year-old journalist and his employer maintain that any contact Usmonov had with Hizb ut-Tahrir was entirely for journalistic purposes.

Four other men were tried along with Usmonov in the same court in the northern Tajik town of Khujand. The men were found guilty of Hizb ut-Tahrir membership and were given prison sentences ranging between 20 and 22 years.

Earlier, in a separate court in Khujand, another Tajik reporter, Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov, was barred from journalistic work for three years and ordered to pay a 35,800-somoni (approximately $7,100) fine for causing moral damages with his articles that criticized local authorities.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, Johann Bihr of Reporters Without Borders welcomed the journalists’ release, saying the authorities were «using the judiciary to try and silence» them.

«They never committed any offense. They never committed any crime, and they should not have been condemned,» Bihr said.

«Quite the opposite, they should have been compensated for the harm they received, Ismoilov for being jailed almost one year and Usmonov for being jailed one month an being tortured. So this is really unacceptable.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajik_courts_free_two_journalists/24359961.html

Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 13 October 2011 — The United Nations designated the second Wednesday of October as the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction. More recently, it moved this annual observance to October 13th. The Day is meant to encourage citizens and governments alike to be a part of constructing more disaster resilient communities and countries.

The goals of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO) and its Disaster Preparedness Programme (DIPECHO) align well with the International Day. Since 2003, an affiliate of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), Focus Humanitarian Assistance in Tajikistan (FOCUS) has been an implementing partner of the DIPECHO project, with geographic coverage primarily in the eastern province of Tajikistan in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), in Afghanistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. FOCUS recently completed the sixth, consecutive DIPECHO Project offered in Central Asia.

Although the project formally ended on August 31, FOCUS received approval from ECHO to use excess funds towards recognizing the International Day and in doing so to increase disaster awareness and preparedness of the communities of GBAO. As part of project’s activities, working with the public education sector to achieve increased disaster risk reduction (DRR) awareness, FOCUS developed two paper-based activities for middle and secondary school children in DRR, which was exclusively published in a monthly journal distributed to schools through the Ministry of Education’s Institute for Professional Development. These activities were based around questions that heighten students’ knowledge of DRR in a very contextual way. Secondly, to increase DRR awareness, FOCUS provided the local television and news station with a short but effective public service announcement on DRR and earthquake preparedness through a video, entitled ‘Five Minutes for Life: Disaster Preparedness for the Family’ which was aired on International Day for Disaster Reduction. On Monday, October 7, the provincial newspaper featured activities on DRR which reached nearly 1,500 readers and on International Day, following the evening news, the DRR video will be broadcasted to an estimated 20,000 viewers. It is anticipated, based on past school and media-based DRR programming under the auspices of FOCUS and through projects like DIPECHO, it is confidently held that these initiatives will make a difference in the lives of communities in Tajikistan. Providing knowledge and education are the most effective way to create a large scale change that is sustainable and empowers ordinary citizens to re-imagine a world that is more disaster resilient and thus is better prepared for the adverse effects on livelihoods that are created by natural hazards.

International Day for Disaster Reduction provides a platform to create awareness to schools and vulnerable communities through DRR activities and media, which has wide access to remote and isolated mountain communities in Eastern Tajikistan to help individuals and families become more resilient to the impact of natural hazards.

For further information please contact:

Ms. Khosiyat Amidkhonova
Communications Officer

Focus Humanitarian Assistance
Tojikmatlubot, 4th Floor
137 Rudaki Avenue
Dushanbe
Tajikistan 734003
E-mail: khosiyat.amidkhonova@focushumanitarian.org
Phone: +992 (37) 2240512

The Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO) is one of the largest donors for humanitarian aid worldwide. With its funding, nearly 20 million victims of natural or manmade disasters are helped each year in about 70 countries. The aid is distributed through 200 partner organizations (Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, specialized UN agencies and European NGOs) impartially to those who need it most independently of their religion, ethnic origin, gender or political affiliation. For further information please visit: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm

Four senior U.S. senators, including the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, have written to Turkmenistan’s ambassador in Washington to express «concern» over the case of jailed RFE/RL Turkmen Service correspondent Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev.

Yazkuliyev, a correspondent for Radio Azatlyk, RFE/RL’s Turkmen-language service, was sentenced to five years in prison last week in what his supporters describe as punishment for his reporting.

The four senators who sent the letter are Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair John Kerry (Democrat, Massachusetts), committee members Richard Durbin (Democrat-Illinois) and Benjamin Cardin (Democrat, Maryland), and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrat, New York). Cardin is also co-chair of the U.S. Helsinki Commission.

The letter was sent on October 12 to Meret Orazov, Ashgabat’s envoy to Washington, and calls on the Turkmen government to «investigate the allegations that Mr. Yazkuliyev did not receive a fair trial and take steps to ensure that that he receives a fair hearing and is accorded due process.»

Yazkuliyev was detained on September 27 in Turkmenistan’s Akhal province on charges of «influencing or abetting» an attempted suicide by a family member.

Yazkuliyev’s relatives sent a written appeal to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov and the country’s head prosecutor in an attempt to retract false statements against him that they said they had been forced to make by secret police.

They have said the case is an effort to intimidate Yazkuliyev for his journalism activities and that they have «sufficient documentation to prove that [Yazkuliyev’s] case is politically motivated.»

His October 5 trial was held after business hours, behind closed doors, and without his lawyer present.

After his sentence was handed down, U.S. Representative Howard Berman (Democrat, California), the most senior Democrat on the House Committee On Foreign Affairs, told RFE/RL that Yazkuliyev’s conviction was an example of something «would not be tolerated» in a free society.

«I think the government of Turkmenistan has to understand that the people of Turkmenistan are entitled to freedom of expression and that for Turkmenistan to evolve into a truly just country, they have to develop democratic governance, respect different opinions, ensure freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. I have written the president of Turkmenistan six or seven months ago about this issue, apparently to no avail. The government seems to be [pursuing] the same kind of harassment and criminalization of conduct that in a free society would not be tolerated.»

RFE/RL President Steven Korn has called the case «an outrage.»

«This was a bogus trial and a predatory sentence that shows that Turkmenistan authorities respect no law and no standards when it comes to their treatment of the media. RFE/RL protests the sentence vigorously and calls on others in the international community to condemn it as well,» he said.

Yazkuliyev was one of the first journalists in Turkmenistan to cover deadly explosions at a weapons depot at Abadan in July, which official media initially ignored and then downplayed as a minor incident.

He was summoned by security officials and warned about his reporting on the incident.

Turkmenistan is consistently ranked by watchdog groups as one of the world’s most egregious violators of press freedom.

Press freedom and human rights organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Freedom House, have said Yazkuliyev’s sentence is in retaliation for his reporting.

The letter from the U.S. senators says Yazkuliyev’s case «adds to that of several other political prisoners of longstanding concern, including the Turkmen Helsinki Foundation’s Annakurban Amanklychev, Sapardurdy Khadzhiev, and civic activist Gulgeldy Annaniyazov.»

The Turkmen Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

In 2006, RFE/RL Turkmen correspondent Ogulsapar Muradova was tortured to death in a Turkmen prison shortly after her arrest, prompting international demands for an investigation that never took place.

written by Richard Solash in Washington with additional reporting by Muhammad Tahir

http://www.rferl.org/content/senators_appeal_yazkuliyev_case/24359153.html

Four senior U.S. senators, including the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, have written to Turkmenistan’s ambassador in Washington to express «concern» over the case of jailed RFE/RL Turkmen Service correspondent Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev.

Yazkuliyev, a correspondent for Radio Azatlyk, RFE/RL’s Turkmen-language service, was sentenced to five years in prison last week in what his supporters describe as punishment for his reporting.

The four senators who sent the letter are Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair John Kerry (Democrat, Massachusetts), committee members Richard Durbin (Democrat-Illinois) and Benjamin Cardin (Democrat, Maryland), and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrat, New York). Cardin is also co-chair of the U.S. Helsinki Commission.

The letter was sent on October 12 to Meret Orazov, Ashgabat’s envoy to Washington, and calls on the Turkmen government to «investigate the allegations that Mr. Yazkuliyev did not receive a fair trial and take steps to ensure that that he receives a fair hearing and is accorded due process.»

Yazkuliyev was detained on September 27 in Turkmenistan’s Akhal province on charges of «influencing or abetting» an attempted suicide by a family member.

Yazkuliyev’s relatives sent a written appeal to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov and the country’s head prosecutor in an attempt to retract false statements against him that they said they had been forced to make by secret police.

They have said the case is an effort to intimidate Yazkuliyev for his journalism activities and that they have «sufficient documentation to prove that [Yazkuliyev’s] case is politically motivated.»

His October 5 trial was held after business hours, behind closed doors, and without his lawyer present.

After his sentence was handed down, U.S. Representative Howard Berman (Democrat, California), the most senior Democrat on the House Committee On Foreign Affairs, told RFE/RL that Yazkuliyev’s conviction was an example of something «would not be tolerated» in a free society.

«I think the government of Turkmenistan has to understand that the people of Turkmenistan are entitled to freedom of expression and that for Turkmenistan to evolve into a truly just country, they have to develop democratic governance, respect different opinions, ensure freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. I have written the president of Turkmenistan six or seven months ago about this issue, apparently to no avail. The government seems to be [pursuing] the same kind of harassment and criminalization of conduct that in a free society would not be tolerated.»

RFE/RL President Steven Korn has called the case «an outrage.»

«This was a bogus trial and a predatory sentence that shows that Turkmenistan authorities respect no law and no standards when it comes to their treatment of the media. RFE/RL protests the sentence vigorously and calls on others in the international community to condemn it as well,» he said.

Yazkuliyev was one of the first journalists in Turkmenistan to cover deadly explosions at a weapons depot at Abadan in July, which official media initially ignored and then downplayed as a minor incident.

He was summoned by security officials and warned about his reporting on the incident.

Turkmenistan is consistently ranked by watchdog groups as one of the world’s most egregious violators of press freedom.

Press freedom and human rights organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Freedom House, have said Yazkuliyev’s sentence is in retaliation for his reporting.

The letter from the U.S. senators says Yazkuliyev’s case «adds to that of several other political prisoners of longstanding concern, including the Turkmen Helsinki Foundation’s Annakurban Amanklychev, Sapardurdy Khadzhiev, and civic activist Gulgeldy Annaniyazov.»

The Turkmen Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

In 2006, RFE/RL Turkmen correspondent Ogulsapar Muradova was tortured to death in a Turkmen prison shortly after her arrest, prompting international demands for an investigation that never took place.

written by Richard Solash in Washington with additional reporting by Muhammad Tahir

http://www.rferl.org/content/senators_appeal_yazkuliyev_case/24359153.html

KHUJAND, Tajikistan — A Tajik journalist who wrote articles critical of local authorities has told his trial he is not guilty of the charges against him and asked that he be released, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported.

Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov made the remarks in court in Khujand on October 13, a day before a verdict is expected in his trial on charges including libel, insulting public officials, extortion, and inciting regional hatred. The prosecutor has demanded a 16-year prison term.

Ismoilov is a correspondent in northern Sughd Province for the newspaper «Nuri Zindagi» (Light of Life).

The charges of libel, insult, and inciting hatred are connected to Ismoilov’s reports, in which he criticized alleged corruption among local authorities and a lack of transparency in the distribution of land in his native Asht district, among other topics.

In his final statement on October 13, he said he sought simply to have shortcomings rectified, and that he was detained for his activities as a journalist. He called on the court to acquit and release him.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) earlier this week called for Ismoilov’s immediate release.

«If journalists who criticize government officials face criminal charges, lengthy investigative detention, and punitive prison sentences, Tajikistan risks stifling public discourse,» the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, said in a statement.

Local and international organizations that focus on journalism and human rights addressed an open letter to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in early September asking him to ensure that Ismoilov receives a fair trial.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajik_journalist_on_trial_asks_court_to_release_him/24358532.html