ALMATY, Kazakhstan — A Kazakh journalist has received an 18-month «restricted freedom» sentence after being found guilty of libel by an Almaty court, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

Valery Surganov was also ordered by the court to pay a 100,000-tenge ($665) fine, publicly apologize to «Kazakh society,» and issue a «corrected version» of his article.

Under his «restricted freedom» sentence, Surganov is forbidden from leaving Almaty and is restricted from entering public places.

Surganov was sued by financial police in the northern Pavlodar Oblast for the second part of his article «The Knights of the Financial Police,» which was issued on the opposition guljan.org website this summer.

The investigative article alleged malfeasance by financial police in Astana. A criminal case against Surganov was launched on July 20 after the deputy chief of the Pavlodar Oblast financial police, Sanzhar Aliev, sued him for libel.

Some media in Kazakhstan alleged that Aliev’s suit against Surganov was caused by a power struggle between the Committee for National Security (KNB) and the financial police.

But guljan.org chief editor Gulzhan Ergalieva told RFE/RL those allegations «are absolutely baseless.»

Surganov pleaded not guilty. He said in court on November 7 he planned to appeal the verdict.

http://www.rferl.org/content/kazakh_journalist_convicted_of_libeling_police/24384041.html

KULOB, Tajikistan — Schoolteachers and farmers in the southern Tajik city of Kulob are complaining that they have been forced to buy annual subscriptions to state newspapers, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

A teacher in Kulob named Firuz told RFE/RL on October 28 that officials from his school took 30 somonis from his monthly salary of 118 somonis ($25.1) to pay for annual subscriptions to official newspapers without asking him. Other teachers in the area have made similar complaints.

He said Kulob’s education department is forcing schools to subscribe to official newspapers like «Jumhuriyat,» «Sadoi Mardum,» «Omuzgor,» and others.

A farmer in Kulob named Rahmiddin told RFE/RL that the city’s tax department asked him to bring receipts of his annual subscriptions to official newspapers, reminding him that only after that will tax officials accept his tax return.

Rahmiddin said that every year farmers are asked to subscribe to newspapers, but that even when they pay they often never receive the newspapers they have subscribed to.

Iskandar Kamolov, the chairman of Kulob’s post office, said subscriptions to newspapers are «very important» and the Kulob’s mayor reminds city officials every Monday at weekly meetings to subscribe more people to state newspapers.

Mirzo Valiev, the head of Kulob’s boarding school No. 1, said that his school subscribes to 10 official newspapers.

Valiev noted that the school administration paid for four newspapers and the teachers at the school jointly subscribed to six others. He added that the joint subscription is not expensive and the newspapers help school officials and teachers to stay well informed about news and important events.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan_state_newspapers_forced_subscriptions/24376458.html

On October 24, 2011, Ambassador Ken Gross opened the U.S. Embassy sponsored Public and Media Relations Course for Public and Media Relations Specialists from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Committee on National Security, the Drug Control Agency, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Agency on State Financial Control and Anti-Corruption, the Customs Service, the National Bank of Tajikistan, National Guards and the Ministry of Defense. The participants had an opportunity to meet with media representatives on the first day of the interactive training course to discuss the challenges they face while working with one another. Three highly experienced Supervisory Special Agent FBI instructors assigned to the FBI’s Office of Public Affairs, National Press Office in Washington, D.C., taught the course.

At the opening ceremony, Ambassador Gross remarked, “The U.S. Embassy is committed to assisting you in your important role as government spokespersons, in your efforts to provide fair and balanced access to your media counterparts.”

The U.S. Embassy’s Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs organized and funded the one-week course. The course helped public and media affairs experts in the Government of Tajikistan develop skills to better deliver news and information to mass media and the public. The training course involved practical scenarios and role play activities including news conferences, use of social media, on camera critiques, “ambush” interviews, and other “live” scenarios. Ambassador Gross also played the role of U.S. Ambassador in a role play scenario, where he delivered news to government spokespeople.

The United States Government is committed to continuing its support for Tajik law enforcement agencies. Since 1992, the U.S. Government has provided more than $900 million in assistance programs that support the law enforcement and security systems, economic growth, democratic institutions, health care and education of Tajikistan.

AQTAU, Kazakhstan — An independent online television company says two of its journalists were attacked with baseball bats and one of them shot with a rubber bullet in the western Kazakh city of Aqtau, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

Stan-TV deputy chief editor Zhuldyz Toleuova told RFE/RL that correspondent Orken Zhoyamergen and cameraman Asan Amilov were attacked on the morning of October 26 by unknown assailants.

According to Toleuova, four men came out of a white Toyota Prado and attacked the pair as they were leaving an apartment in the city.

«The attackers used baseball bats and shot one of the journalists in the back with a rubber bullet,» Toleuova said. «They then took Orken Zhoyamergen’s notebook and left the scene. Amilov is in very serious condition. He has a serious head injury and his legs are injured. He lost a lot of blood. Zhoyamergen is able to walk and talk.»

Toleuova added that «the journalists were planning to interview local oil and gas corporation officials about the ongoing strike by oil workers in the region.»

In a statement, the Paris-based media rights group Reporters Without Borders called the attack «shocking» and urged the authorities to investigate swiftly and impartially.

Zhoyamergen told RFE/RL by phone that he is not able to talk at the moment. He corroborated Toleuova’s information that Amilov sustained a serious head injury.

Bazarkhan Zhuzbaeva, the Manghystau Oblast Interior Affairs Department’s representative, told RFE/RL that she has no details of the incident.

Toleuova told RFE/RL that the attack is most likely connected with the journalists’ professional activities.

According to her, these two journalists have been covering the ongoing strike by oil workers in Manghystau Oblast since May.

Last month an Almaty court ruled Stan-TV must stop using the antennae on the roof of its Almaty offices because they are endangering the health of nearby residents.

In August, Stan-TV editors Elina Zhdanova and Baurzhan Musirov said the company had been subjected to intrusive inspections because of its independent news coverage.

Stan-TV is funded by fugitive Kazakh businessman Mukhtar Ablyazov, who lives in self-imposed exile in England.

The station — which covers Central Asia in video reports posted on its website — often publishes reports critical of the Kazakh government and some of its officials.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tv_station_reports_attack_on_its_journalists_in_west_kazakhstan/2437204

ASHGABAT — An RFE/RL correspondent jailed in Turkmenistan has been freed under a presidential amnesty, RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service reports.

Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev was sentenced to five years in prison earlier this month after being found guilty of encouraging a relative’s suicide attempt.

Yazkuliyev’s family and supporters said the case was retaliation for his outspoken investigative reporting, including coverage of deadly explosions at a weapons depot near Ashgabat in July, which were downplayed by official media.

The trial and sentence drew widespread condemnation from media-rights groups including Paris-based Reporters Without Borders and the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists, and prompted four senior U.S. senators to express their concern in a letter to the Turkmen ambassador in Washington.

An RFE/RL correspondent met Yazkuliyev after he was freed on October 26 and said he conveyed his gratitude to all those who had campaigned for his release.

In a statement, RFE/RL President Steve Korn welcomed Yazkuliyev’s release.

«But, while we are pleased that he is free, RFE/RL maintains that Mr. Yazkuliyev’s detention was invalid and deeply disturbing,» Korn added.

http://www.rferl.org/content/rferl_turkmen_correspondent_freed/24371889.html

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