The U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan announces an open competition for the 2014-2015 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program provides accomplished Tajik young and mid-career professionals with ten months of non-degree academic study, leadership development, and professional enrichment in the United States to. Humphrey Fellows are selected based on their potential for leadership and commitment to public service either in the public or the private sector. Seventeen major universities across the United States host Humphrey Fellows.

Professional Fields:

Sustainable Development:

·         Agricultural and Rural Development

·         Economic Development/Finance and Banking

·         Natural Resources/Environmental Policy/Climate Change

·         Urban and Regional Planning

Democratic Institution Building:

·         Communications/Journalism

·         Law and Human Rights

·         Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration

·         Trafficking in Persons Policy and Prevention

·         Technology Policy and Management

·         Human Resource Management

Education:

·         Educational Administration, Planning and Policy

·         Higher Education Administration

·         Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (Teacher Training or Curriculum Development)

Public Health:

·         Public Health Policy and Management

·         Substance Abuse Education, Treatment, and Prevention

·         HIV/AIDS Policy and Prevention

Requirements for Applicants:

·         University degree

·         A minimum of five years of substantial professional experience

·         Demonstrated leadership qualities

·         A record of public service in the community

·         Strong English skills;

·         Limited or no prior experience in the United States

Application Procedure:

Interested applicants may contact the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe at (+992 37) 229 23 14 or by e-mail: FulbrightTajikistan@state.gov

The application deadline is May 17, 2013.

The on-line application is available at http://apply.embark.com/student/humphrey/fellowship/

Nominations are made by the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan and are reviewed in the United States by independent review committees. The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board has final approval of nominees.

Tajikistan is not a place that sees a lot of protests these days. So it is a cause for wonder when demonstrators spontaneously gather outside the US Embassy and United Nations offices in Dushanbe to air complaints that mirror authorities’ stated views – without facing any serious challenge from law enforcement authorities.

Such was the case on April 5-6, when protestors assembled to criticize a Ukrainian court decision not to extradite former Prime Minister Abdumalik Abdullajanov, who is wanted in Dushanbe for attempting to overthrow President Imomali Rakhmon back in the mid-1990s. Abdullajanov – who has refugee status in the United States – was released from a Ukrainian jail on April 4. The UN urged Kyiv not to send him to Tajikistan, reasoning that it was unlikely he would receive a fair trial at home.

Local media estimated that about 200 people overall participated in simultaneous protests on April 5, waving banners calling Abdullajanov a criminal and demanding that he face justice. About 15 people organized a picket outside UN offices the next day. Few Tajiks seemed concerned about Abdullajanov’s fate while he was in detention, so the protests have sparked widespread speculation they were organized by authorities angry at the Ukrainian court’s decision – and, implicitly, at Washington for granting him asylum.

Under Tajik law, any demonstration, even if only one person participates, must receive official permission. After opposition members asked why authorities allowed these rallies, and forbid, for example, a rally over the deaths of civilian Muslims in Gaza last year, the Interior Ministry called the demonstrations illegal and said it had arrested “four or five” protestors for “disturbing public order,” but did not release names or comment further.

Nuriddin Karshiboev, chairman of the National Association of Independent Media (NANSMIT) expressed befuddlement over the protests. “Tajikistan’s youth stands far from politics,” he told EurasiaNet.org. “The students with banners who were demanding the extradition of the ‘criminal Abdullajanov’ … were born after he had left the country. It is unlikely the protesters clearly knew what they were protesting against.”

Where the protests go from here is unclear. The US Embassy issued a security warning for US citizens on April 9. Meanwhile, the UN office approached the Tajik Foreign Ministry, the National Security Committee and the Interior Ministry requesting extra security, a staff member confirmed to EurasiaNet.org.

Human rights activist Dilrabo Samadova, head of the young lawyers’ association Amparo, which authorities shut down last year, told EurasiaNet.org that she remembers only one comparable event. “A similar rally involving university students took place in Khujand [in 2009]. Professors released them [students] from classes so they could march along the streets carrying banners in support of purchasing shares in the Rogun hydropower plant,” she said, referring to President Rahmon’s dream project, the completion of the world’s tallest hydroelectric dam.

“There was no youth or civil initiative behind that jolly demonstration. Local functionaries and the university administration just wanted to impress central authorities with their patriotism,” said Samadova. She said all signs suggested that the April 5-6 rallies were organized from above.

More than a few participants in discussions on social networks, especially Facebook, have expressed a similar belief — that authorities organized the early April protests to give the Abdullajanov extradition request a veneer of popular support.

Social networks have been an apparent source of concern for authorities in recent years. Facebook has been blocked several times in the past year, often for “prophylactic maintenance.” And last week, once again, the state communications agency ordered local Internet service providers to block access to the video-sharing platform YouTube, the head of one telecoms provider in Dushanbe confirmed to EurasiaNet.org.

In a withering critique posted on the Ozodagon news agency’s web site, journalist Marat Mamadshoev called on Tajik authorities to focus on domestic problems, rather than worry about trying to silence critics abroad.

“Authorities must have known that the ex-premier has refugee status in the United States. They should have crossed him off the wanted list,” Mamadshoev wrote on April 5. “The internal situation is far more dangerous: […] employment opportunities are not being created, people are disappointed by the authorities, by the judicial system, by everything that is going on.”

“Instead of countering problems and conducting reforms, they [authorities] are chasing yesterday’s phantoms,” Mamadshoev added.

Editor’s note: 

Konstantin Parshin is a freelance writer based in Tajikistan

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66816

The third annual Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) launches on April 24!  This year’s competition invites teams of exchange alumni to propose projects to address global issues under project categories including Empowering Women, Outreach to Underserved Communities, Entrepreneurship and Youth Employment, Expanded Access to Education, Environmental Protection Government Transparency, Freedom of Expression, Conflict Resolution, Citizen Security, and Promoting Civil Society.  Winning teams will be awarded up to $25,000 in support of their projects.

Visit the 2013 AEIF pages on International Exchange Alumni (IEA) now to learn all about the competition!  All alumni who wish to compete in the 2013 AEIF must be verified members of the IEA website.  If you’re not already a member, register for IEA today so that you can start working on your project as soon as the competition starts on April 24!

Esfandiar Adena is the BBC Media Action Fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) for spring 2013. In April, he will begin a research project at RISJ in Oxford on social media and governance in Tajikistan.

I was born in 1975 in a remote village in Tajikistan called Vashan. It lies high up in the northern Zarafshan valley which has historically been so isolated that even dialects differ from one village to another. But that isolation is beginning to change.

As a child, I remember one occasion when my father fell ill with high blood pressure. My brother had to go to the central office of our Soviet-style collective farm to even find a phone and it took at least two hours for the ambulance to arrive to take my father to the clinic 8km away. Patients, including pregnant women, sometimes died on the way to the clinic.

Now mobile phones have revolutionised the lives of those villagers. Telavmorad Ayev, the schoolteacher who taught me the Persian alphabet all those years ago, told me, «Thank God that such a device was invented. When someone becomes ill, we can now easily call doctors, who can give advice and guidance right away so it’s not necessary sometimes to even visit patients. So much energy, time and effort is saved.»

Phones, but no electricity

But it’s not all good news. «During the Soviet period we had abundant electricity but no phones. Now we have mobiles but no electricity,» says Mehroddin Nabiyev, who owns a small grocery shop in the village and uses his mobile to call partners in other villages. «It is such an interesting but painful contrast.»

Mehroddin’s shop in Vashan.The lack of electricity is a huge problem across Tajikistan but particularly in rural areas where villagers use traditional wood-burning stoves to warm their homes. When power does get turned on for an hour or two, everybody rushes to charge their mobiles so they can communicate with their relatives working abroad.

The Foreign Factor

It’s this huge part of the Tajikistan population working abroad that has had a lasting impact on mobile communication in the country.

Faced with widespread corruption, poverty and unemployment in Tajikistan, more than one million Tajiks have left the country for work over the past two decades, mainly for the construction sites in Russia and Kazakhstan. Abuse and harassment of these foreign migrants is common, but the money they send home amounts to roughly 47% of Tajikistan’s national GDP.

Having a mobile in Tajikistan therefore isn’t just about entertainment. It’s a vital way for migrant workers to regularly call their relatives and send money.

And it’s one of the main factors explaining why mobile communication is far more advanced than any other economic sector, such as energy, agriculture or transport, in Tajikistan.  LTE (Long-Term Evolution, the new 4G wireless broadband standard) technologies and VoIP (internet telephony) are widespread. What’s more, 3.7 million people – almost half of the population – use the internet and according to statistics, the majority of these internet users are young people using mobiles phone to go online.

Online debate — and the political backlash

This rapid growth in mobile usage among young populations has provided a new space for young Tajik people to actively discuss social, religious, economic and political problems in a country where more than 40% of the population live below the poverty line.

«Young people are very interested in social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Russian-made Odnoklasniki (Classmates),» Asamidin Atayev, the head of the Association of Internet Providers of Tajikistan says. «They make new friends, chat, comment and debate in social forums. They upload their photos, videos and share views and news.»

A Facebook posting mocking former Tajik Education Minister Abdujabbar Rahmanov.Young people are actively challenging their leaders on such online platforms. In Facebook groups with names as Tajikistan Online, Platforma, Tajikistan-e Nouvin (New Tajikistan), people are posting and sharing caricatures of government officials. Most recently, a caricature of former Education Minister Abdujabbar Rahmanov appeared on Facebook after he ordered female students to wear shoes with heels not less than 10 cm.

This increased use of social media has not gone unnoticed. The authorities’ response has been furious:  there have been several attempts to block access to Facebook, for example, although such attempts have only made social networks more popular.

Even Tajikistan’s President, Emamali Rahman, has gone on record to criticise the Tajiks’ growing use of mobile phones. In a televised speech in January 2009, he said that money spent on mobile phones is money «spent ineffectively» and that «only two mobile phones are enough in a family. If people save their money, we would be able to build new power stations.» The state television channel also took mobile companies’ adverts off air and started to broadcast programmes about the health risks of mobile phones.

President Rahman has recently celebrated his 20th year in power but the signs are that his popularity is decreasing and that this year’s presidential election in November will prove a great challenge to his remaining in office. New media technologies – embodied by the mobile phone in people’s pockets – will surely play an interesting role in these elections.

The BBC Media Action fellowship at The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is funded by the Global Grant from the UK Government’s Department forInternational Development.

DUSHANBE — Some 100 young men and women rallied in front of the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe on April 5, protesting the release of former Prime Minister Abdumalik Abdullojonov from custody in Ukraine.

A similar protest was held simultaneously by some 60 young demonstrators in front of the UN office in Dushanbe.

Ukrainian authorities refused Abdullojonov’s extradition and released him on April 4, saying he has refugee status in the United States.

He was detained in Ukraine in February on his arrival from the United States.

Abdullojonov challenged longtime Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in the 1994 presidential election.

Tajik authorities accuse him of involvement in a 1996 assassination attempt on Rahmon and backing a 1998 militant attack in Sughd Province.

Abdullojonov has denied the charges, saying they are politically motivated.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan-abdullojonov-release-ukraine/24949111.html

Ukraine will not extradite Tajikistan’s former Prime Minister Abdumalik Abdullojonov to his home country. 

The Ukrainian prosecutor-general’s press secretary Marharyta Velkova told RFE/RL by phone on April 4 that the decision was based on the fact that Abdullojonov has refugee status in the United States.

Abdullojonov was detained in February at Boryspil airport near Kyiv on an international warrant after arriving from the U.S.

Abdullojonov, who challenged long-time Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in presidential elections in 1994, is accused by Tajik authorities of involvement in a 1996 assassination attempt on Rahmon.

He is also accused of backing a 1998 militant attack in Sughd Province, and of organized crime and terrorism-related offenses.

Abdullojonov denies the charges.

He has lived in the United States for the past decade.

http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-tajikistan-abdullojonov-extradition/24948084.html

Freedom of Speech in Tajikistan

March 2013

In March 2013, the Monitoring Service received 21 reports. Fifteen of them describe the factual situation in the media in the light of social, legal and political environment; four reports describe direct violations of rights of media professionals; and two reports describe conflicts and accusations against the media and journalists.

I. POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL ENVIRONMENT DEFINING THE FACTUAL SITUATION IN THE MEDIA

1. Statements of public officials defining the factual status of the mass media

11 March

Shukurjon Zukhurov, Parliament, Dushanbe

At a meeting with journalists, the chairman of Majlisi Namoyandagon Majlisi Oli (the Parliament) Shukurjon Zukhurov called on media professionals to restrain from committing mistakes to avoid conflicts with the authorities.

The meeting was organized on the eve of the Tajik National Press Day.

In recent time, there have been many legal proceedings caused by conflicts between the authorities and the media. The two latest cases are judicial complaints against the TojNews information agency and the ImruzNews weekly. Experts indicate a relation between the frequent lawsuits and the forthcoming presidential elections.

11 March

Gaibullo Afzalov, chairman of Khatlon province, Kurgan-Tube

The chairman of Khatlon province Gaibullo Afzalov held a meeting with media professionals on the occasion of the Tajik National Press Day.

The official indicated a big input of journalists and appreciated their efforts in social and economic development in Khatlon province.

Eight journalists working for government and private mass media received gifts from the administration.

11 March

Kokhir Rasulzoda, chairman of Sughd province

Chairman of Sughd province Kokhir Rasulzoda held a meeting with local journalists and gave them gifts on behalf of the administration.

The official acknowledged the hard creative labor of media professionals, which has a big positive impact on political and public developments in the society.

14 March

Saimurod Fattoev, state advisor to the President of Tajikistan, Dushanbe

The state advisor to the President of Tajikistan on social development Saimurod Fattoev indicated the feasibility and timeliness of an initiative launched by the Information-Communication Council under the President.

The initiative is targeted to promoting the culture of information in Tajikistan. In his letter to the president, the official supported the Charter of Members of the National Information Community in the Tajik segment of the Internet.

19 March

Emomali Rakhmon, President of Tajikistan

The President of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmon signed a number of laws adopted by the Parliament.

On 19 March, the President signed the Law “On periodicals and other mass media”.

The official web site of the President says that “The new media law is adopted with the consideration of contemporary challenges; it defines organizational and legal bases for printing and other mass media; it provided guarantees of the freedom of speech and regulates relations in this area”.

2. Factual situation in the media and the freedom of speech

4 March

TV Poitakht, Dushanbe

The TV channel Paitakht will resume broadcasting on 4 March. According to Abdukodir Abdukahhor, director of the TV company, the station has received necessary spare parts for the transmitter from the Ukraine.

The broadcasting was terminated on 24 February by the reason of a technical failure. There have been many speculations regarding the “relation” between the forthcoming presidential elections and the termination of broadcasting. Abdukahhor denies such a relation.

12 March

Gaibullo Afzalov, chairman of Khatlon province

On 11 March, at a meeting with media professionals on the eve of the National Press Day, the chairman of Khatlon province Gaibullo Afzalov expressed concern over unsatisfactory work of local periodicals.

The official noted that the main reason for that is the lack of financing. He called upon heads of district administration to find resources for supporting the media.

13 March

Zarif Alizoda, Ombudsman, Dushanbe

Zarif Alizoda, the Ombudsman of the Republic of Tajikistan noted in the annual National Human Rights Report that the blocking of information portals and web sites (by the Tajik communication authorities) is the violation of citizens’ rights.

The Report published in March 2013, gives many examples of violations of basic rights, such as the right of free access to information.

In recent months, the Tajik communication service under the President repeatedly gave orders to local Internet service providers to block access to such web resources as Facebook, www.ozodi.org, www.news.tj, www.tojnews.tj and many others.

The report says that “the limitations in access to web sites leads domestic Internet users away from sources of information, which has a negative impact on the national information security”.

14 March

All media, Dushanbe

The Millat weekly conducted an opinion poll among its readers to define the most influential printing outlets in Tajikistan.

“It is quite difficult to define the most influential newspapers… There have been two major periods in the development of the Tajik printing media – the Soviet period and the era of independence. In the Soviet time, the most popular were Charogi Ruz, Javoni Tojikiston, Adabiyot va Sanat, Maorif va Madaniyat, Adolat, Rastokhez, Sukhan, Sadoi Shark, farkhang, and Ilm va Khayot. In the psot-Soviet period, the most popular are Millat, Asia Plus, Farazh, SSSR, Charkhi Gardun, Niokh, Nerui Sukhan, Ruzi Nav, Odamu Olam, ImruzNews, and Najot.

15 March

TV Poitakht, Dushanbe

On 14 March, the Paitakht TV resumed broadcasting. The work of the TV company was terminated on 24 February because of a technical failure.

According to Abdukodir Abdukahhor, the director of TV Poitakht, the station will broadcast on weekends (2 hours in the morning and 6 hours in the evening), and during the weekdays, from 12 p.m. till midnight. This schedule will be valid until the full rehabilitation of the TV station’s broadcasting equipment.

The TV station was created in 2012. At present, it covers the whole area of Dushanbe and some of suburban districts.

28 March

Samad Khikmatov, deputy chairman of the TV & Radio Committee, Dushanbe

Two TV companies – Asia (Sughd province) and Simoi Mustakili Tojikiston expressed a desire to switch to the mode of digital broadcasting.

The intention was expressed at the national conference “Transparency and the realities of transition to digital broadcasting in Tajikistan” organized by the Sodeistvie Foundation.

Samad Khikmatov, deputy head of the government TV & Radio Committee stated that at present, the country has all technical capabilities for digital broadcasting. “Those who wish to start broadcasting in digital format can approach our agency, and we will provide you with an appropriate frequency and relevant technical services”, — he said.

At present, four state TV stations broadcast in digital format: Shabakai Avval (The First Channel), TV Safina, TV Jahonnamo, and the television for children Bakhoriston.

3. Journalists protecting their civil and professional rights

4 March

ImruzNews, private newspaper, Dushanbe

The ImruzNews weekly published an official letter of protest against the verdict of the Ismoili Somoni district court. The court ruled to apply administrative punishment against 12 public officials.

The lawsuit was initiated by Rustam Khukumov, a relative of an influential Tajik public official. The complainant had troubles with Russian law enforcement agencies in relation to drug smuggling; he spent some time in custody in Russia, but eventually, was released. Both Tajik and foreign media speculated a lot about Khukumov’s release from the custody and tension between diplomatic agencies of Russia and Tajikistan, which allegedly had a lot to do with Khukumov.

The statement released by ImruzNews indicates that the verdict of the judge Sherzod Nizomov is unlawful and unfair. According to the court decision, the newspaper must pay a moral compensation to the complainant in the amount of 50 thousand Somoni (more than $10 thousand) and to apologize for a publication “defaming” certain Tajik public officials.

The newspaper states that the judge conducted all court sessions in a “unilateral” manner, considering only the claims of Khukumov, and eventually, rendered the verdict in his favor. The editor of ImruzNews Naziri Nusrat said that the repeated declines of the newspaper’s claims is the evidence of the court’s unfairness.

The statement also says that the sessions held behind closed doors and numerous dismissals of appeals challenges the fairness of the Tajik judicial system.

4 March

TV Jahonoro, Khujand, Sughd province

The city court in Khujand closed the administrative case against a journalist of TV Jahonoro.

The lawyer Muhabbat Juraeva who protected the interests of the TV station, told the media that the case is closed according to Article 33 of Tajikistan’s Administrative Code, which says that a citizen cannot be brought to responsibility after the expiry of a three-month term after committing an offence.

On 6 September 2012, a journalist presented a TV story about a fire at the Korvon market in Dushanbe. The information was taken from the original source – a web site of the TojNews information agency.

The lawyer Juraeva repeatedly stated that the case against Mohira Vokhidova, head of the Jahonoro news unit was initiated unlawfully. The court launched investigation into the case according to Article 373 of Tajikistan’s Administrative Code (dissemination of media products).

28 March

All media, Dushanbe

The Tajik Union of Journalists and the Ministry of Culture launched a professional contest “Media Against Corruption”.

The contest will be conducted according to the action plan developed by the National Anti-corruption Council within the framework of the National Anti-corruption Strategy for the period of 2013-2020.

The main goals of this activity is strengthening of public awareness and changing the social behavior to prevent corruption and attract the mass media for creating a better environment for the implementation of the government’s anti-corruption efforts.

The Ministry of Culture invites legal entities (TV and radio companies, news agencies, creative unions, etc.) and freelance correspondents working for electronic and printing media.

Materials on 13 thematic nominations printed or broadcast in Tajik and Russian languages from 1 February 2013 to 1 February 2014, can be presented to the jury.

28 March

All media, Khorog, GBAO

The Tajik Union of Journalists and the Independent Media School “Tajikistan – XXI Century” held a seminar “The mass media and child’s rights” in the city of Khorog, the administrative center of Gorno-Badakhshan. The seminar attended by 15 media professionals from state and private institutions is funded by UNICEF.

Participants exchanged their experience and ideas in the area of public awareness on the issues of child’s rights. They also indicated the necessity of strengthening professional skills, studying legal and moral aspects of problems in that area, as well as the need of better cooperation between the media, government agencies and the civil society.

II. VIOLATION OF RIGHTS

1. Appeal from judgment

7 March

ImruzNews weekly, Dushanbe

On 7 March, the private weekly ImruzNews presented an appeal against the decision of the Ismoili Somoni district court on the claim of Rustam Khukumov who demanded a moral compensation from the newspaper in the amount of 50 thousand Somoni.

The editor of ImruzNews Naziri Nusrat told the media that the newspaper requires the recall of judgment with further reconsideration in a court of upper authority.

In October 2012, ImruzNews published an article titled “Khukumov and Bakiev are a real headache for their fathers”. In January 2013, Khukumov approached the Ismoili Somoni district court with a complaint demanding a moral compensation from the newspaper. Khukumov also demands a public apology from ImruzNews.

2. Accusation of defamation

Март, 14

ImruzNews weekly, Dushanbe

On 14 March, the economic court in Dushanbe started investigation into the complaint of the Tojiron company against the ImruzNews weekly and the lawyer Faizinisso Vokhidova for libel.

Journalists were allowed to attend court hearings.

At the hearings, Vokhidova stated that the investigation of this case in the economic court contradicts the provisions of Article 32 of Tajikistan’s Law on Economic Courts, but the Dushanbe city court ignored her statement.

19 March

Nigokh weekly, Dushanbe

The rector of the Tajik National Arts Institute Asliddin Nizomov demanded a moral compensation in the amount of 60 thousand Somoni for libel and insult from the Nigokh weekly and six professors who formerly worked at the Institute.

On 15 march, the Firdausi district court started hearings on the case. However, the claimant stated that he will be satisfied if the professor present their apologies in the newspaper, and is would be ready to recall his complaint.

On 13 February 2013, Nigokh published an article titled “Brain drain from the Arts institute”, which was seen as insulting by the rector.

3. Denial of accreditation of a foreign medium

28 March

Abdukayumi Kaiumzod, Radio Ozodi, Dushanbe

The Tajik Foreign Ministry denied accreditation of Abdukaiumi Kaiumzod, correspondent of the Tajik service of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (Radio Ozodi).

The journalist told the Nigokh weekly (#1, 27.03.2013) that the problem emerged last year. Initially, the Ministry provided him with a short time accreditation (for three months), but later, officials did not prolong the accreditation. Kaiumzod says that he is not aware of reasons for such decision, but he keeps working for Radio Ozodi.

III. CONFLICTS, ALLEGED VIOLATIONS, ACCUSATIONS AGAINST THE MEDIA

1. Accusation of defamation

13 March

ImruzNews weekly, Dushanbe

The Tojiron company applied to the Supreme Economic Court with a complaint against the ImruzNews weekly and the lawyer Faizinisso Vokhidova demanding 50 thousand Somoni from the lawyer and a symbolic amount of 1 Somoni from the newspaper as a moral compensation for libel.

An article published by Nigokh (#40, 11.03.13) says that Tajik officials somehow demand this particular amount – 50 thousand Somoni – as a moral compensation, wishing to intimidate or destroy a medium or punish a journalist or a lawyer.

28 March

ImruzNews weekly, Dushanbe

At the first court hearing on the complaint of the Tojiron company against the ImruzNews weekly and the lawyer Faizinisso Vokhidova, the judge Azizbek Sharbatov suggested for the parties to find an amicable agreement.

Vokhidova told the media that the plaintiff’s attorney rejected the offer of the judge saying that “the matter concerns a deliberate dissemination of information defaming the company’s business reputation”.

KHATLON, Tajikistan — Authorities in the southern Tajik province of Khatlon have denied involvement in the disappearance of an outspoken Uzbek community leader.

Salim Shamsiddinov has been missing since March 15.

A provincial police official said an investigation has not found «any sign that Salim Shamsiddinov was beaten or kidnapped by force.»

Khatlon deputy police chief Eminjon Jalilov also rejected the March 26 statement by rights monitor Amnesty International that said Shamsiddinov’s disappearance “could have been a politically motivated abduction.”

Shamsiddinov, 58, a critic of the Tajik government, was beaten by unknown assailants in May.

He has blamed Tajik government policies for «straining relationships» with neighboring Uzbekistan.

Shamsiddinov recently called on ethnic Uzbeks living in Tajikistan to vote for an opposition candidate in the next presidential election scheduled for November.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan-disappearance/24940182.html

March 22, 2013

Despite formidable obstacles, independent media has for years managed to maintain an on-the-ground presence in Uzbekistan.