WASHINGTON — The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged world leaders to «hold Central Asian regimes responsible for denying global access to information by throwing critical reporters behind bars.»

CPJ Eurasia researcher Muzaffar Suleymanov made the call at a briefing of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and repeated in a subsequent CPJ statement.

Suleymanov highlighted the cases of Muhammad Bekjanov and Yusuf Ruzimuradov of the Uzbek opposition newspaper “Erk,” who have been in jail since 1999.

In Kyrgyzstan, Suleymanov also cited the case of Kyrgyz journalist Azimjon Askarov, who is serving a life sentence handed to him in 2010 after his investigative reporting ended the careers of several regional prosecutors and police officers.

http://www.rferl.org/content/cpj-calls-for-release-of-jailed-reporters-central-asia/24582061.html

An Azerbaijani freelance reporter for RFE/RL will become one of 70 journalists killed in action last year to be commemorated at a U.S. news and journalism museum.

Rafiq Tagi, 61, died in hospital days after being stabbed by an unknown assailant.

He said the attack was related to a critical article he had written about human rights in Iran.

Tagi’s name, together with the names of other journalists slain last year, will be inscribed on a special wall at the Washington-based Newseum during a ceremony on May 14.

The list includes a combined total of 14 journalists killed in Pakistan and Iraq, the two most dangerous countries for reporters in 2011.

Journalists from Afghanistan and the Russian republic of Daghestan will also be honored at the Newseum ceremony.

http://www.rferl.org/content/newseum_rafik_tagi/24578344.html

KHATLON, Tajikistan — An outspoken critic of the Uzbek and Tajik governments has reportedly been beaten by unknown assailants near his home in the Tajik town of Qurghon-Teppa.

Ethnic Uzbek Salim Shamsiddinov, 57, said three men attacked him on May 5, causing injuries to his head and legs. Shamsiddinov said he was rescued by a passing police officer.

The attack occurred the same day that Shamsiddinov was dismissed in absentia from his post as deputy chairman of the Foundation of Uzbeks in Tajikistan and head of the Foundation of Uzbeks in Khatlon province.

He is a lawyer by profession.

Police officials in the southern Khatlon province confirmed the incident, but declined to give details.

Shamsiddinov has been receiving medical treatment at home, saying he is «too afraid» about his security to stay in hospital.

Strained Relations

Shamsiddinov has suggested the attack could be linked to recent media interviews in which he blamed Tajik government policies for «straining relationships» with neighboring Uzbekistan.

«Ordinary people don’t attack you like that,» he said. «I was targeted because of my interviews. This attack must have been ordered by some important people.»

In a string of interviews to Tajik media, including to the «Millat» (Nation) newspaper, Shamsiddinov suggested that certain officials within the Tajik government are pursuing «nationalistic» policies.

He complained that many ethnic Uzbeks in Khalton have no access to education in their mother tongue.

In his interviews, Shamsuddinov criticized local authorities in Khatlon for allegedly closing down Uzbek-language classes in several schools.

Tensions Over Water

Shamsiddinov also questioned Tajikistan’s ambitious project to complete the Roghun hydroelectric power plant, a plan strongly opposed by Uzbekistan.

Tashkent has complained that the Roghun power plant will leave Uzbekistan facing severe water shortages downstream.

Shamsiddinov is also a critic of Uzbek authorities.

He has accused both governments of pursuing the «wrong» policies toward each other, and also undermining ethnic minorities’ rights.

He has dubbed both Dushanbe and Tashkent’s treatment of ethnic minorities a «form of genocide.»

In an open letter published in the media, the Foundation of Uzbeks in Tajikistan said that Shamsiddinov’s recent interviews reflect his own opinions and do not represent the foundation’s standpoint on these issues.

Nonetheless, the foundation pointed out that it does support Shamsiddinov’s points of view.

Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have long had strained relations due to disputes over water and energy resources as well as transit routes.

http://www.rferl.org/content/outspoked_uzbek_critic_beaten_in_tajikistan/24573221.html

A court in Kazakhstan’s western city of Oral has approved the 10-day detention of two men to investigation their possible involvement in an attack that left a well-known journalist hospitalized.

The two men, both 20 years old, were arrested May 6.

Lukpan Akhmedyarov, a correspondent for the «Uralskaya nedelya» weekly in Oral, was stabbed and shot with a pneumatic pistol on April 19.

Kazakh authorities have said additional suspects may have been involved in the attack and that the investigation is continuing.

Akhmedyarov said he believes the attack was a reaction to some of his journalistic work.

International organizations and rights groups have condemned the attack on Akhmedyarov, who was known for his critical reporting on Kazakh authorities, and called for a thorough investigation.

Based on reporting by KazTAG and Interfax

http://www.rferl.org/content/kazakhstan_journalist_attack_suspects/24576135.html

The Representative on Freedom of the Media from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has expressed concern over the «indiscriminate detention» of journalists reporting on street protests in Moscow and recent cyber attacks on Russian media websites.

Dunja Mijatovic said in a statement that «What happened in recent days must be thoroughly investigated and sanctions taken against those law enforcement officers who violated the rights of journalists.»

Reports say that riot police harassed and detained dozens of reporters who were covering street gatherings in Moscow from 6 May to 9 May.

On 6 May, the websites of the «Kommersant» newspaper, «Bolshoi Gorod» magazine, the Ekho Moskvy radio station, the Dozhd TV station, and that of the slon.ru online news service were made temporarily unavailable just as some of them were planning to broadcast live from the scene of the protests.

http://www.rferl.org/content/osce_representative_criticizes/24576796.html

It’s never a good time to be a government critic in Tajikistan, but this week has been particularly bad. Two critics have been violently attacked in separate incidents.

A leader of the minority Uzbek community in Khatlon Province, Salim Shamsiddinov, 57, was beaten with a metal pipe in broad daylight on May 5 near his home in Qurghon-Teppa.

Shamsiddinov told Radio Ozodi (Radio Liberty’s Tajik service) that he believes the attack, carried out by three athletic-looking men, was related to a recent interview he gave the newspaper “Millat,” where he criticized Tajik authorities for their “nationalist” position in dealing with rival Uzbekistan. (That statement so upset his allies that the day Shamsiddinov was attacked he was also dismissed from his post as deputy chairman of the Society of Uzbeks in Tajikistan.) He has also regularly criticized Tashkent’s approach to relations with Tajikistan. Uzbeks make up roughly 15 percent of Tajikistan’s population.

Separately, on May 7 in Dushanbe, television presenter Daler Sharipov was hospitalized in an attack by unknown assailants. Asia-Plus reports a suspect has been detained, but Sharipov’s friend, who witnessed the attack, says he is not certain the suspect is the assailant.

Sharipov, a fifth-year journalism student, hosts two popular talk shows on state television. Last week he announced he was creating an organization called Qadam ba Qadam (Step by Step) to draw attention to Tajikistan’s cronyism and corruption, RFE/RL reported. Radio Ozodi quoted Sharipov as saying he had recently received email threats from anonymous sources.

While there’s no direct evidence the attacks are related to Shamsiddinov’s or Sharipov’s work, they do testify to a trend in Tajikistan. Critics beware.

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65378

Tajik authorities said they are investigating the severe beating of a Tajik journalist and political activist.

The attack on Daler Sharifov, a moderator on a popular talk show on Tajikistan’s state TV channel, «Safina,» occurred late on the evening of May 7.

RFE/RL’s Tajik Service met with Sharifov and his relatives in a hospital in the capital, Dushanbe, where he is receiving treatment.

Sharifov’s friend, who did not reveal his name, said one unknown man restrained him while the other attacked Sharifov.

Last week, in an interview with RFE/RL, Sharifov said he and his followers had created a movement called Qadam ba Qadam, or Step by Step.

He said the aim of the movement, which has not been officially registered, was to counter Tajikistan’s regional and tribal politics, which he said was the source of all the country’s problems.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajik_activist_severely_beaten/24574301.html

DUSHANBE — A European Union delegation led by Belgium’s foreign minister has met with Tajik officials in Dushanbe to discuss Tajik and Central Asian regional issues.

Foreign Minister Didier Reynders told reporters after the talks on May 4 that the sides discussed regional integration and security issues — including the situation in Tajikistan’s neighbor, Afghanistan, and Dushanbe’s relations with Uzbekistan.

Reynders stressed the importance of relations between Tajikistan and neighboring Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan in April suspended gas deliveries to Tajikistan for two weeks, causing major disruptions in the operation of several Tajik plants and factories.

Dushanbe and Tashkent have had strained diplomatic ties during the past two decades over a variety of issues, including energy and water resources, and transit routes.

«We have discussed about the situation among Tajikistan and the different neighbor countries. And it was very interesting to us to listen to the comments of the president about the relations with Russia, with Iran, with Uzbekistan, with China, with Pakistan and Turkmenistan,» Reynders said.

«It is quite interesting to us to prepare many discussions on a bilateral level between Belgium and those countries.»

Speaking about regional security and integration, Reynders also said the EU was ready to work together with Tajikistan to establish a stable situation in Afghanistan.

«We will work in the future together to organize, if it is possible, the stabilization of Afghanistan,» he said. «If it is possible also to have a better integration in the region.»

Reynders said his talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon also touched on the possibility of international observers monitoring Tajikistan’s presidential election scheduled for November 2013.

«We will follow also the process inside Tajikistan until the next presidential election. And I was very pleased to listen to the president saying that it could be possible to organize the presence of observers from the international community during this new pair of elections,» Reynders said.

«It is important to us to have the capacity to build a very good collaboration on a bilateral level, but also among the Tajik authorities and the European Union.»

Tajik authorities have permitted Western observers to monitor previous elections in the country.

But international observers have said recent Tajik votes have not been free or fair because of measures restricting the development of genuine opposition movements, and state control of mass media.

http://www.rferl.org/content/eu_in_tajikistan_focuses_on_regional_integration/24570025.html

The London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International has called on Tajik authorities to put an end to torture.

In a statement, the watchdog urged Tajikistan’s leadership to ensure thorough, impartial, and independent investigations into all allegations of torture during detention.

Amnesty expressed particular concern over reports about delays in launching an investigation into the alleged torture of a 31-year-old Tajik citizen.

Amnesty International’s researcher on Tajikistan, Rachel Bugler, told RFE/RL that her organization is concerned that while Tajik authorities pledge to stop the torture of suspects in custody to the international community, more reports emerge of alleged beatings and torture by police of individuals who were not proven guilty.

Bugler said a system in which citizens do not trust their own police force cannot function.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan_torture/24570228.html

On World Press Freedom Day, UNESCO has awarded its Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to Azerbaijani journalist Eynulla Fatullayev, who spent four years in prison on charges related to his work.

The UN cultural agency is highlighting this annual event aimed at celebrating media freedom by hosting a three-day conference in Tunisia, the country where the first Arab Spring protests took place.

The gathering will focus on the role of the media as a catalyst for change.

This year’s World Press Freedom Day comes at a time when media watchdogs say independent journalism is increasingly under attack around the world.

Freedom House and the Committee to Protect Journalists both issued reports in the run-up to the May 3 commemoration warning of a dwindling number of free-press outlets and a rise in attacks on private media and Internet censorship.

http://www.rferl.org/content/azerbaijani_journalist_honored_on_world_pres_freedom_day/24568601.html