(RFE/RL) — Europe’s main election watchdog says Tajikistan’s parliamentary and local elections on February 28 failed to meet basic democratic standards.

«I’m happy that election day took place in a generally good atmosphere, but I’m even more disappointed that these elections failed on many basic democratic standards,» said Pia Christmas-Moller, vice-president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

In a statement, the OSCE said its hundreds of observers had «highlighted serious irregularities on election day, including a high prevalence of family and proxy voting and cases of ballot box stuffing,» claims seconded by opposition politicians.

«Such serious irregularities weaken genuine democratic progress,» Christmas-Moller said.

In a report ahead of the vote, the OSCE had expressed concern over a lack of transparency and accountability among election officials. The organization also cited reports from several political parties alleging that their campaigning had been obstructed by the authorities.

Tajikistan has never held an election judged free and fair by Western observers.

According to the Central Election Commission, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon’s ruling People’s Democratic Party won 71.7 percent of the vote. The party held more than 50 of the 63 seats in the outgoing parliament and its leader has ruled the former Soviet republic for more than 17 years.

The opposition Islamic Revival Party and pro-government Communists also secured some seats in the lower house, it said.

Official final results will be announced in two weeks.

Rahmon’s 23-year-old son, Rustam Emomali, widely seen as a successor to his father, is also using the election to launch his political career, seeking a seat on the city council of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.

Electoral authorities in Tajikistan said more than 85 percent of some 3.5 million eligible voters cast ballots.

Rahmatillo Zoirov, the head of the opposition Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan, complained that in Dushanbe, his party’s observers were made to sit in corners of the polling stations and were unable to keep an eye on the process.

«In several polling stations we detected illegal activities such as multiple voting. They [the authorities] are not allowing filming or taking pictures in the polling stations. At the same time they have restricted the functions of voting monitors,» Zoirov told RFE/RL’s Tajik Service.

Young Leadership And Swelling Ranks

The Communist Party and the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP) have emerged as the main contenders to the ruling People’s Democratic Party. Both parties held a small number of seats in the outgoing assembly.

The IRP is Central Asia’s only Islamist political party that is registered to work legally. With its young leadership and swelling ranks, the party aimed to use the election to strengthen its representation in the parliament.

But despite campaigning hard, IRP leader Muhiddin Kabiri says he is discouraged by what he saw on election day.

«We hoped that these elections would be better in comparison to the elections of 2005. But unfortunately, according to reports we received in our election headquarters from polling stations, authorities in districts are still not ready for transparent and democratic elections,» Kabiri said.

News agencies quoted Kabiri as saying his supporters have registered numerous violations, including multiple voting and obstruction of the work of electoral observers and poll workers. Kabiri said he believed his party could have won 10 seats in parliament in a fair vote. The party has two seats in the outgoing legislature.

Javharshoh Himmatshoev, a voter in Dushanbe, says that despite being registered to vote, his five-member family didn’t receive voting cards. «Are they blind to lose five names? You can forget one name, two names but five is too much,» he says.

Despite the criticism of his opponents, Rahmon called the elections an important political event to promote the country’s economic and social life. While voting close to his official residence in Dushanbe, Rahmon told journalists that he prefers to keep quiet on election day and will answer questions later.

«From the point view of improvement of the international image of Tajikistan, the more transparent, more free, and more democratic parliamentary elections are, the more important they for the people and the country of Tajikistan,» Rahmon said in response to a question from RFE/RL’s Tajik Service.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Early_Fraud_Allegations_Emerge_In_Tajik_Vote/1970460.html

Kyrgyz human rights activist Nematillo Botakoziev has been reported missing in Dushanbe, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reports.

Botakoziev, 42, has not been seen since February 26 when he was at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Dushanbe applying for refugee status.

Botakoziev had applied for UNHCR protection after reportedly being repeatedly harassed by police in the southern Kyrgyz town of Nookat since 2004.

He said he was being persecuted by the police because of issues related to his Uzbek wife, Mavlyuda Abdulazizova, who had been sentenced more than a decade ago in Uzbekistan on charges of attempting to overthrow the government.

She was pardoned in July 1999 and fled to Kyrgyzstan, where she met and married Botakoziev.

In September 2008, Nookat residents attacked the local administration building to protest an official refusal to allow a public celebration of the Muslim holiday of Eid. Botakoziev was accused of organizing the protest and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He fled to Tajikistan and denies any involvement in the protest.

Botakoziev was also an associate of Kyrgyz journalist Alisher Saipov, who was shot dead in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh in 2007.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Kyrgyz_Human_Rights_Activist_Reported_Missing/1971735.html

Dushanbe, February 24, 2010 — The Embassy of the United States is concerned about recent judicial actions and lawsuits against five independent Tajik newspapers: Asia Plus, Ozodagon, Farazh, Paykon, and Millat.

The media play a crucial role in fostering a stable society by reporting on government activity, exposing injustice, and providing independent analysis. The lawsuits threaten to force these newspapers to cease publication, which would be a serious blow to freedom of the press in Tajikistan.

OSCE member states have an obligation to ensure freedom of the press by protecting the media from harassment and ensuring that the judiciary defends the rights of journalists to carry out their important work. We have conveyed our concerns to the Government of Tajikistan, and urged it to ensure that the judiciary is not used as a tool to harass independent media or stifle free speech.

U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe

DUSHANBE — A Tajik court has begun hearing a lawsuit against three independent publications, in a case international rights activists say is part of a crackdown on press freedom ahead of upcoming elections, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

Three judges, including two from the Supreme Court, brought the libel action against the weeklies «Asia-Plus,» «Farazh,» and «Ozodagon» for their coverage of a press conference on corruption and bias in the judicial system.

In mid-January, the journalists reported on the press conference in which a lawyer said the judges — Fakhriddin Dodometov, Nur Nurov, and Ulughbek Mamadshoev — had sentenced a group of 33 businessmen from the northern city of Isfara to long prison terms despite weak evidence of their crimes.

The judges maintain that the printed allegations against them are false, and sued the papers for 5.5 million somonis ($1.26 million) in damages.

Some 50 journalists, NGO representatives, and other were present outside the courtroom today to show their support for the accused newspapers.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Tajik Service ahead of today’s hearing, the editors of the three newspapers and their lawyer said the judges were merely seeking monetary gain through the claim. They also said the judges should have asked for their responses to be printed before taking legal action — a step required by Tajik media law.

Nuriddin Karshiboev, the head of the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan, told RFE/RL that the lawsuit was representative of a recent push by officials to shrink press freedoms and encourage journalists to censor themselves.

Earlier this month, the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) criticized the Tajik authorities for «harassing the media» ahead of the February 28 parliamentary elections.

In their statement, RSF also said that «there is clearly an all-out drive to intimidate news media and get them to censor their coverage of state authorities.»

Mamadshoev, one of the three judges claiming libel, told RFE/RL’s Tajik Service that he filed the lawsuit as a private citizen — not as a representative of the Supreme Court.

Today’s session was a preliminary hearing. It comes in the wake of other libel suits brought by officials against Tajik publications.

In late January, a court fined the weekly «Paykon» 300,000 somonis ($69,000) in a libel suit brought by Tajikstandart, a government agency that monitors the quality of imported goods.

The Agriculture Ministry has also brought a libel suit against the «Millat» newspaper, in which it’s demanding 1 million somonis ($229,000) in damages.

That case is set for late March.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Dozens of Kazakh journalists and human rights activists have urged senior government officials to allow unimpeded publication of the opposition weekly «Respublika,» RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Karim Masimov, Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabaev, and Prosecutor-General Kayrat Mami, the journalists requested an official government statement that publishing houses in Kazakhstan may print «Respublika.»

Among those signing the letter were Seitqazy Mataev, chairman of the Journalists Union; Tamara Kaleeva, president of the media-monitoring NGO Adil Soz (Just Word); and Adil Dzhalilov, chairman of the Almaty-based NGO Media Alliance of Kazakhstan.

In recent months, the weekly’s editors have been constrained to print issues of the newspaper in their offices under modified titles such as «Golos respubliki» (Voice of the Republic) and «Moya respublika» (My Republic), because no publishing house in Kazakhstan would print the weekly.

The editors of «Respublika» believe printing houses have been ordered not to publish the paper.

Kazakhstan is currently the chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a 56-member regional security organization that works to promote a range of issues, from democratization to free media, fair elections to minority rights.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Kazakh_Journalists_Urge_End_To_Newspapers_Harassment_/1963833.html

The Committee To Protect Journalists (CPJ) says 2009 was the deadliest year for journalists across the globe and a record year for the number of reporters arrested or detained. More than 70 journalists lost their lives in 2009 while on the job.

The international media watchdog, which unveiled its annual survey at United Nations headquarters in New York on February 16, said Iran is carrying out one of the world’s most severe crackdowns on journalists, with more than 90 reporters arrested last year. At least 47 of them remain in prison, according to CPJ.

Robert Mahoney, deputy director of CPJ, said the Iranian authorities have become adept at using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter against the very journalists who rely on them.

«Facebook, which the Iranian government is now using to go after and find dissidents and journalists, mining their data, seeing who their friends are — they’re turning the technology that should liberate the press against the press,» he said.

Maziar Bahari is a «Newsweek» correspondent who was detained in Iran last year and held for four months following the street protests that erupted after the disputed June presidential elections. He said the Iranian authorities are employing new tactics to harass journalists. He noted that a proposal is being mulled to make it a crime for Iranian citizens to work for foreign media.

«The Iranian authorities, especially the Revolutionary Guards, even though they have not passed this law yet, have said they are going to [make it] a crime to work for Persian media outside of Iran,» Bahari said. «So, anyone who works for BBC Persian, VOA Persian, or Radio Farda which is the Iranian version of Radio Liberty, can be accused of espionage and can be tried as a spy. And as my interrogator once told me, we all know what the punishment is for a spy — execution.”

The CPJ’s Mahoney said that despite the grim data, activists and organizations like the UN should persistently urge governments to respect freedom of expression. «We do believe that constant advocacy on behalf of journalists, bringing their plight into the public sphere, making sure that no victim of a repressive government remains anonymous — can help,» he said. «And it did help in the case of Maziar [Bahari], who was freed, and with other journalists who have been freed.»

Part of the reason, Mahoney said, for CPJ to want affiliation with the United Nations is that CPJ believes the UN mandate is to protect peace and promote human rights. He expressed his hope that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will take an active role in defending the freedom of expression.

«I would like the secretary-general to make a more assertive and firm stand in defense of freedom of expression,» Mahoney said. «Freedom of expression matters. It is a prime pillar of democracy.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/Media_Watchdog_Appeals_To_UN_To_Protect_Journalists_/1960770.html

MOSCOW — Some 20 supporters of an award-winning Uzbek photographer found guilty of defamation held a rally outside the Uzbek Embassy in Moscow today, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reports.

A Tashkent court on February 10 found Umida Ahmedova, 54, guilty of portraying her nation as «backward» in a collection of photographs and a documentary she made depicting people’s lives in rural Uzbekistan.

Uzbek officials called the photographs and documentary «insulting» and «damaging to the country’s image.» The court granted Ahmedova amnesty after the verdict was announced. She could have been sentenced to six months in prison or up to two years in a labor camp.

Ahmedova told RFE/RL that although she left the courtroom a free woman, she did not do anything wrong and will appeal the verdict.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Muscovites_Rally_For_Uzbek_Photographer_Convicted_Of_Libel/1955667.html

TASHKENT — Uzbek photographer Umida Ahmedova said today she would appeal the guilty verdict against her for defamation, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reports.

Ahmedova, 54, was found guilty by a Tashkent court of portraying her country as «backward» for a collection of photographs and a documentary depicting the daily struggles of people in rural Uzbekistan.

Uzbek officials had ruled the photographs and documentary were «insulting» and «damaging to the country’s image.»

The court granted Ahmedova amnesty after the verdict was announced. She could have been sentenced to six months in prison or up to two years in a labor camp.

Ahmedova told RFE/RL that although she left the courtroom a free woman, she did not do anything wrong and will therefore appeal the verdict.

An award-winning photographer, Ahmedova’s projects were financed by the Swiss Embassy in Tashkent.

Ahmedova was initially arrested and charged on December 16. Last month, authorities presented Ahmedova’s lawyer with the findings of an Uzbek panel of experts who studied her film and photos.

The panel accused Ahmedova of portraying Uzbek people’s lives and their traditions in a negative light, giving the impression that Uzbeks are «barbarians» living in the Middle Ages.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Uzbek_Photographer_To_Appeal_Guilty_Verdict/1955079.html

(RFE/RL) — A Kazakh court has struck down a ruling blocking the press from printing potentially damaging material about the president’s son-in-law.

The Medeu district court today also dismissed Timur Kulibaev’s lawsuit against five independent and opposition newspapers, which had reported on corruption allegations against him.

Today’s move comes a day after sharp criticism from Europe’s top security and rights body, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), whose media-freedom representative called the lawsuit a dangerous attempt at censorship.

The same court last week seized the entire print runs of the newspapers and barred media outlets from publishing any information that could damage Kulibaev’s reputation.

Kulibaev last month filed lawsuits against «Respublika,» «Golos respubliki» (Voice of the Republic), «Vzglyad» (Glance), «Kursiv,» and «Kursiv-News» after they printed a statement by an exiled Kazakh businessman and politician.

In the statement, Mukhtar Ablyazov alleged that Kulibaev illegally obtained tens of millions of dollars in a deal with the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) several years ago.

Speaking today to journalists in the capital, Astana, Kulibaev refused to comment on the allegations, which Ablyazov also sent to the Prosecutor-General’s Office, political parties, and politicians:

«Let’s not comment on this. The reason is simple: the law enforcement agencies are taking care of it,» Kulibaev said. «Once they come up with a conclusion, we can talk about it.»

Following today’s ruling, representatives of three of the newspapers («Respublika,» «Vzglyad,» and «Svoboda slova») said they planned to seek compensation from Kulibaev for the libel lawsuits he filed against them.

OSCE Criticism

The original court ruling appears to have embarrassed authorities in Kazakhstan, which this year became the first former Soviet republic to chair the OSCE, Europe’s main democracy watchdog.

Kazakhstan rejected criticism of its human rights track record in the run-up to the OSCE chairmanship, saying it was gradually implementing liberal reforms.

On February 8, the OSCE media-freedom representative criticized what he called the «misuse» of libel laws to muzzle the press in Kazakhstan.

In a statement, Miklos Haraszti specifically mentioned the confiscation of the five newspapers. He described the lawsuits as «dangerous attempts at censorship» and said the harsh punishments sought endangered «the very existence of the few critical-minded media outlets» that remain in the country.

Later the same day, the chairman of Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court, Musabek Alimbekov, told journalists that the Medeu district court judge «could have made a mistake in imposing the ban.»

But Alimbekov added that «judges’ mistakes can be fixed, in case [their decisions] have not fully entered into force and if they are still under review. That is what the judicial system is for. The judicial actions of one organ can be fixed by the judicial actions of the next authority.»

Presidential Son-In-Law

Kulibaev is often tipped as a possible successor to President Nursultan Nazarbaev. He is deputy chairman of Samruk-Kazyna, the state body that oversees all of Kazakhstan’s energy companies — oil, natural gas, and nuclear.

Kulibaev is also chairman of the board of directors of the KazAtomProm state uranium producer and KazMunaiGaz, the state gas company, as well as Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the state railway company.

Ablyazov, the source of the allegations about Kulibaev’s financial involvement with CNPC, is a former banker and politician who is himself accused of embezzlement. He now lives in London.

RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service contributed to this report.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Kazakh_Court_Overturns_Media_Criticism_Ban/1952739.html

(RFE/RL) — A prominent Uzbek photographer and film director has gone on trial in Tashkent for her work, deemed by the Uzbek authorities to be «insulting» and «damaging to the country’s image.»

Umida Ahmedova, 54, has been charged with defamation for her collection of photos, «Woman and Man: From Dawn till Night,» documenting the lives and hardships of Uzbek villagers, as well as her documentary film, «The Burden of Virginity,» which focuses on Uzbek wedding and marriage customs.

If found guilty, Ahmedova faces up to two years in a labor camp or six months in prison.

She rejects the charges as «groundless,» saying her works merely reflect Uzbekistan’s customs and traditions.

In Paris, the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) has launched a campaign in her support, calling on the Uzbek authorities to acquit her. The organization’s appeal was signed by nearly 1,000 artists, art critics, journalists, and rights activists from around the world.

‘Expert Panel’

Ahmedova told RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service today that she did not mean to offend anyone. «It has never occurred to me that my photos would be deemed slander to my country and my nation,» she said. «It’s a very difficult time for me now, in many ways.»
Ahmedova was initially arrested and charged on December 16. Last month, authorities presented Ahmedova’s lawyer with the findings of a panel of experts who studied her film and photos.

The panel accused Ahmedova of portraying Uzbek people’s lives and their traditions in a negative light, giving an impression that Uzbeks are «barbarians» living in the Middle Ages.

(See a slideshow of her photos here.)

Both Ahmedova’s photo collection and her film were financed by the Swiss Embassy in Tashkent.

Controversial Film

The documentary «The Burden of Virginity» was presented by Ahmedova and her film director husband, Oleg Karpov, shortly before International Women’s Day in March 2009.

The two-part film features Uzbeks’ tradition of giving enormous significance to a bride’s virginity on her wedding night.

The documentary shows how many young couples break up straight after the wedding night because the bride has lost her virginity before marriage.

The film features a woman who says she was sent back to her parents’ home after the first night by the groom’s family because she wasn’t a virgin.

Because of the disgrace the lack of virginity brought to her and her family, the woman, now in her 30s, hasn’t been able to find a partner and rebuild her life since.

Uzbek reaction to «The Burden of Virginity» has been mixed, and some critics have found it controversial. Officials at the Swiss Embassy have since distanced themselves from the film.

Ahmedova’s photographs have been exhibited in Tbilisi and Copenhagen among other places. She has won several awards for her work, including the 2004 Grand Prix in Russia’s Inter-Press-Photo contest.

A graduate of the Soviet Union’s prestigious Institute of Cinematography in Moscow, Ahmedova was Uzbekistan’s first female filmmaker.

RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service contributed to this report. With regional media reports

http://www.rferl.org/content/Photographer_Tried_For_Slander_For_Portraying_Unglamorous_Side_Of_Uzbek