SUGHD, Tajikistan — The Regional Court of Tajikistan’s Sughd Province has upheld a ruling to shut down a nongovernmental organization dedicated to human rights.

The leader of the organization Civil Society, Mohiniso Horisova, told RFE/RL that she plans to appeal the court’s decision.

In January, a court in the city of Khujand ruled that Horisova’s organization must be shut down for using the wrong address in its registration documents and for failure to clearly define its leadership.

Horisova called the ruling politically motivated.

Civil Society has been operating in Tajikistan for 11 years. It has been holding seminars, roundtable discussions, and training that focused on human rights, social issues, and initiating legal reforms.

The organization has been discussing possible reforms of presidential and parliamentary election laws.

Tajikistan’s presidential election is scheduled for November.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan-ngo-human-rights/24972595.html

ORAL, Kazakhstan — Preliminary hearings have taken place against four men in the western Kazakh city of Oral who are charged with attacking a prominent journalist.

Lukpan Akhmedyarov, a reporter for the «Uralskaya nedelya» weekly, survived the April 2012 attack in which he was stabbed and shot with an air pistol.

The four suspects were apprehended in November.

The judge at the hearing on April 29 set a trial date of May 14 for all four suspects.

Akhmedyarov says the attack was related to his journalistic activities.

In July he was found guilty of insulting a local official and ordered to pay the official a penalty of about $33,000.

In November he was ordered to pay around $7,700 to a local financial police officer after a judge ruled that Akhmedyarov had insulted the officer in an article.

http://www.rferl.org/content/trial-date-set-trial-akhmedyrov/24971911.html

DUSHANBE — Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has again promised that November’s presidential election will be «fair and transparent» but warned the opposition «not to rely on their foreign patrons.»

In his annual address to the parliament and the nation, Rahmon said opposition parties should not attempt, with external help, a repeat of the situation that he says brought about the country’s 1992-97 civil war.

Rahmon’s statement was seen as being addressed to the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (PIVT), whose forces fought against Rahmon’s government during the civil war.

The PIVT is Tajikistan’s most popular opposition party.

Earlier this month, Rahmon told journalists in Brussels that the presidential elections will be fair, adding he had not decided whether he would run.

Rahmon has held power in Tajikistan since 1992.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan-fair-election-rahmon/24969196.html

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has sent a note to Tajikistan saying State Duma deputy Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s remarks about Tajikistan and its president were personal views expressed during a talk show on television.

An April 25 note from the Russian Foreign Ministry says “the comments expressed do not have anything in common with the position of Russia.”

Tajikistan sent Russia a protest note on April 23 after Zhirinovsky appeared on Russian television last week and made some scathing comments.

During the April 18 program “Poedinok” (Duel) on the Rossiya television channel, Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, questioned Tajik authorities’ insistence on Russia paying higher rent for use of three military bases.

“The Tajik communists are again inflating the price for our base in Tajikistan. The arrogance! They know Russia has money. ‘Pay more.’ We should tell them, ‘We will stop taking take your workers that come here for jobs,” he yelled to a largely sympathetic audience.

Russia’s 201st Division has been stationed in Tajikistan since the end of World War II, remaining there after the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991.

Seen as a bulwark against instability in Central Asia and neighboring Afghanistan, the Tajik government allowed the 201st to stay, for many years without having to pay any rent.

But recent decisions from Moscow to pay Kyrgyzstan rent for the Kant base and other facilities Russian troops use there, and the willingness of Western governments with troops in Afghanistan to pay for the use of Central Asian bases, prompted Dushanbe to talk about the price for Russian troops using bases in Tajikistan.

Zhirinovsky’s call to ban the hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers from Tajikistan is a serious threat since such workers sent some $3.65 billion from Russia back home to Tajikistan in 2012, roughly half of Tajikistan’s GDP.

“What will the head of the republic [Tajik President Emomali] Rahmon do then? He knows well that it would be the end for him,” Zhirinovsky said.

The outspoken Russian politician then predicted what he thought that would mean for Rahmon.

“And maybe the Taliban would trample on Tajikistan and they would hang [Rahmon] in the center of Dushanbe, like they did [former Afghan leader] Najibullah,” Zhirinovsky warned.

Najibullah was dragged from a UN compound after the Taliban captured Kabul in September 1996 and hanged from a post in the city’s center.

Tajikistan sent the protest note to Russia and deputies in the Tajik parliament also denounced Zhirinovksy’s comments during an April 24 session of the lower house of parliament, the Majlisi Namoyandagon.

One was Shukurjon Zuhurov, who said, “The recent television speech by Vladimir Zhirinovsky, deputy in Russian State Duma, that was broadcast on Russian state TV Rossiya 1 was insulting to the highest degree.”

The April 25 note from the Russian Foreign Ministry called Tajikistan an “ally and strategic partner.” Viktor Zavarzin, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma’s Defense Committee, said on April 19 that Russia’s security could not be guaranteed without Russian bases in Central Asia and cooperation with partners there.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan_russia_zhirinovsky_protest/24968858.html

ALMATY — Authorities in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, have confiscated the first issue of a new newspaper focusing on the country’s political opposition.

Madia Torebaeva, a journalist with «Pravdivaya gazeta» («The Truthful Newspaper»), told RFE/RL that all 1,200 copies of the paper were seized by officers from the city’s Interior Policies Department on April 24.

She said documents authorizing the confiscation stated that the newspaper failed to clearly show exact publication dates in registration documents.

The first issue included excerpts from the book of a leading opposition figure who died under mysterious circumstances, and an interview with the head of the country’s Communist Party.

The next issue is planned for next month.

Kazakh authorities banned dozens of opposition and independent media outlets in December for carrying what officials deemed «extremist content.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/kazakhstan-newspaper-confiscated/24966979.html

ALMATY — Authorities in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, have confiscated the first issue of a new newspaper focusing on the country’s political opposition.

Madia Torebaeva, a journalist with «Pravdivaya gazeta» («The Truthful Newspaper»), told RFE/RL that all 1,200 copies of the paper were seized by officers from the city’s Interior Policies Department on April 24.

She said documents authorizing the confiscation stated that the newspaper failed to clearly show exact publication dates in registration documents.

The first issue included excerpts from the book of a leading opposition figure who died under mysterious circumstances, and an interview with the head of the country’s Communist Party.

The next issue is planned for next month.

Kazakh authorities banned dozens of opposition and independent media outlets in December for carrying what officials deemed «extremist content.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/kazakhstan-newspaper-confiscated/24966979.html

Mamadali Mahmudov, a renowned Uzbek writer once seen as a potential rival to the country’s entrenched president, has been released after spending 14 years in penal custody.

He was convicted for involvement in an alleged plot to kill the president, Islam Karimov.

Mahmudov’s wife, Gulsara Mahmudova, told RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service that her husband was «tired» and resting at home following his surprise release late on April 19.

Mahmudov, 72, finished serving the 14-year sentence in February and was transferred from a labor camp to a detention center in Tashkent.

But Mahmudova told RFE/RL last month that her husband was facing a possible extension of his prison term for having allegedly violated prison regulations.

‘Terrible Injustice’

It remains unclear what prompted Mahmudov’s release.

Human Rights Watch Central Asia researcher Steve Swerdlow said he welcomed Mahmudov’s release.

«It’s hard, I think, for anyone to imagine 14 years of their life being stolen from them, and having to spend 14 years in the conditions that we know exist in Uzbekistan’s prisons,» Swerdlow said. «But every single day that Mamadali Mahmudov has spent in prison was a terrible injustice.»

The freeing of Mahmudov comes ahead of a visit to Tashkent next week by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake.

True Test

Swerdlow said that during that visit, Blake should call on the Uzbek leadership to free all political prisoners and allow them to freely exercise their freedom of expression.

«The real test for the Uzbek government will be whether it allows someone like Mamadali Mahmudov or other political prisoners that are released from prison to actually return to civil society and speak freely and speak critically about their concerns in Uzbekistan,» Swerdlow said.

Mahmudov authored popular books and was once seen as a serious challenger to Karimov.

He planned to run in Uzbekistan’s 1991 presidential election but his candidacy was rejected.

He was sentenced to prison in 1999 for alleged involvement in an assassination attempt against Karimov.

http://www.rferl.org/content/uzbekistan-writer-mahmudov-freed-prison/24963553.html

Print and online journalists worldwide can apply for an award.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation hosts the Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism, honoring the work of freelance journalists and of local reporters in developing countries or nations in transition who often otherwise receive little recognition.

Named in honor of the American freelance journalist killed in a military ambush while on assignment for Reuters in Sierra Leone in 2000, the awards are made annually by the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund (KSMF).

The awards feature two categories: freelance journalists covering international news and local reporters covering events in their home country or region. Each winner receives a US$5,000 prize at a ceremony in London.

The stories can be about conflict, human rights, cross-border issues or any controversial matter in a particular country or region. Each submission must demonstrate professionalism, meet international journalistic standards and provide evidence that courage and determination were required to cover the story.

All articles must be translated into English. Submit entries, a resume, photo and brief statement about the story by May 31.

For more information, click here: http://www.trust.org/foundation-news/entries-now-open-for-2013-kurt-schork-awards-in-international-journalism/

Journalists worldwide working in professional print, broadcast or online media can apply for a fellowship to a four-week course in the Netherlands.

The Radio Netherlands Training Centre (RNTC) is offering fellowships to a course, «Inside International Justice,» which will be held in The Hague October 28 — November 22.

During the course, participants will gain: improved knowledge of the international legal framework pertaining to international justice; understanding of the functioning of international justice together with its successes and failures; and an understanding of the major practical and ethical challenges facing journalists such as the politicization of international justice and the protection of witnesses.

Eligible countries include: Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Autonomous Palestinian Territories, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Surinam, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Fellowship applicants must submit a registration form, resume, letter of motivation and proof of English proficiency by May 7.

For more information about the course, click here: http://www.rntc.nl/insideinternationaljustice

The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs

and

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute North America

The George Washington University — Elliott School of International Affairs’ Central Asian Program (CAP) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute North America (SIPRI North America) are pleased to welcome applications for their Central Asia Fellowship Program. Applications for the Fall session (August 1- December 31, 2013) has been extended to April 30, 2013.

The CAP-SIPRI North America Central Asia Fellowship Program is intended for young professionals-scholars, government officials, policy experts, human rights and democracy activists from Central Asia — who want to enhance their research and analytical skills and seek to become public policy leaders in their respective countries. More generally, the fellowship program seeks to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and build lasting intellectual networks between the Central Asian and the US scholarly and policy communities.

Fellows, who will be funded, will spend five months in residence at the GW Elliott School and/or SIPRI North America. They will be offered a series of tailor-made programs and introduced to US policy and expert communities in both Washington DC and New York. Fellows are required to attend approximately 12 seminars, workshops and training sessions, write one policy brief on the predetermined theme and present their research at two public seminars. Throughout their fellowship Fellows are closely mentored and guided by Central Asia Program and SIPRI North America staff.