On 3 May, Tajik media professional celebrated the International Free Press Day in Dushanbe and Khujand

These cultural events were organized by the Union of Journalists of Tajikistan, National Association of Independent Media, Tajikistan (NANSMIT), and other media organizations. Authorities of Sughd province, the Youth Center in Khujand, the Tajik branch of Open Society Institute, and the OSCE Center in Dushanbe also helped in organizing the vents.

Among thematic events, there was a round table discussion on the topic “Freedom of speech and problems of information security in Tajikistan”. Nuriddin Karshibayev, chairman of NANSMIT says that the situation in the sphere of freedom of expression can be characterized as stagnation. Referring to the principles of the national information security, the authorities create impediments for the development of free press. Participants of the discussion stressed that freedom of expression cannot pose any threats to the information security; on the contrary, is helps saturate the information space.

At the round table, NANSMIT presented its original publications: “Monitoring of Freedom of Speech and Media in Tajikistan in 2006” and “Rights of journalists: questions and answers”.

NANSMIT, Monitoring Service