Dushanbe, Tajikistan, July 19, 2011 — The Embassy of the United States of America welcomes the release of BBC journalist Urunboy Usmonov and the General Prosecutor’s Office’s decision to drop charges related to Hizb ut-Tahrir affiliation.

Mr. Usmonov, like all journalists, must meet with a wide range of individuals to properly perform his legitimate work as a journalist. We call on the authorities to drop the remaining charge against him of failure to inform the authorities of illegal activities.

http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/

RFE/RL has written elsewhere about the disaster in Turkmenistan on July 7, when a series of massive explosions struck a military munitions depot in the town of Abadan, with a population 50,000, located less than 20 kilometers from Ashgabat, the capital. The explosion killed dozens of people.

But that’s not the only thing that’s significant about the incident. The deadly explosions also mark the unprecedented emergence of citizen journalism in one of the world’s most isolated countries.

Soon after the initial blast, the government shut down the Internet and telephone lines in Abadan. The town was evacuated and completely sealed off to all but emergency services.

Hours went by, but the state-controlled media still hadn’t provided any radio or TV reports about the disaster. The only thing that emerged from the authorities was a brief statement:

«Today an emergency joint session of the Cabinet of Ministers and the State Security Council of Turkmenistan has discussed the situation regarding the ignition of pyrotechnical goods, intended for fireworks, stored at a special warehouse. The fire started as a result of the hot weather.»

This sort of thing is par for the course in Turkmenistan. Privately owned media do not exist in the country. TV and radio are tightly controlled by the state, which also closely monitors citizens’ contacts with the outside world. Even a disaster like this would normally go unreported.

But this time, events took a different turn. One of the factors was the unprecedented activism of citizen journalists who reported the event to the outside world even as it was still unfolding — in some cases risking their lives in the process. It’s the first time in the history of Turkmenistan that anything like this has happened.

«Smoke reportedly started rising at the depot at 2 p.m. Turkmen time on July 7, and the first explosion took place at 4 p.m.,» says Farit Tukhbatulin, head of the Vienna-based Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights, which runs a website with contributions from Turkmen citizen journalists. He says he first received word about two hours after that and posted it on the site. It was soon picked up by other media, including RFE/RL.

At around 7:30 p.m., EurasiaNet.org presented a more detailed version of the story. The following day, Radio Azatlyk, RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service, made unique video footage of the event.

But the reporting really got going with two pictures of the damaged buildings (posted later the same day) on the Turkmen version of the online social chat site teswirler.com.

«People: I just escaped from that place when the explosions started,» wrote Jeronimo87, an apparent eyewitness to the explosion, in a comment posted on teswirler.com.

The post continued, «God keep us under his protection from what just happened. An artillery shell fell next to me. I barely escaped even with a car.»

Another user, aylale, wrote: «One of the [shells] fell on my relatives’ home. Thank God that they were able to escape in time.»

Other bloggers described families who’d lost their homes sitting by the side of the road.

There were dozens of other comments posted on the website describing the event, and they’ve attracted dozens of responses.

This discussion was taking place while official Turkmen media were broadcasting their usual cheery songs and reports glorifying the president and all of his marvelous works. Some of the reporters got the word out from Abadan itself before the local communication networks were shut down. In the hours that followed, they kept the story going by moving to parts of the country where the Internet and mobile phone networks were still functioning.

«I’ve never seen reporting about an event in the country like this,» says Tuhbatulin. «We’ve never seen anything like the activism of these citizen journalists in Turkmenistan.» He calls their reporting «an information war» against government control, and says that «it was a clear victory for them.»

By the next morning, despite the official blackout, news of the explosion was everywhere — just not in the Turkmen media.

Only on July 10, three days after the event, did official media run a report saying that «a fire indeed started at a fireworks warehouse, but later spilled over to the arms depot, leading to the death of 15 people.»

This is still fairly far removed from the unofficial version of the story reported by citizen journalists, who say the disaster actually started at the depot and led, in the end, to more than 200 deaths.

But by then it didn’t matter what the government had to say. The citizen journalists had already made their point.

What remains to be seen is how the government will respond to its defeat. The authorities could try to adapt to the new reality and implement needed changes in media policy. Or they could try to tighten the screws even further.

Muhammad Tahir

http://www.rferl.org/content/citizen_journalism_scores_breakthrough_in_turkmenistan/24266428.html

New York, July 14, 2001 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release today of Urinboy Usmonov, a BBC World Service correspondent, detained in June in Tajikistan and calls on authorities to fully exonerate him and remove restrictions on travel.

Tajik authorities released Usmonov on bail but continue to charge him with extremism while imposing a travel ban, according to the BBC.

“We are relieved that after a month in prison, Urinboy Usmonov is reunited with his family,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. “Usmonov’s arrest was unjustified and we call on Tajik authorities to drop their unfounded charges and remove any restrictions on travel.”

Authoritiesarrested Usmonovon June 13 on charges of belonging to a banned Islamist group and indicted him with making «public calls to forcibly change the constitutional system of Tajikistan,» according to press reports and CPJ interviews. Unable to prove the initial charges, authorities amended the indictment.

http://cpj.org/2011/07/bbc-reporter-released-in-tajikistan.php

ASHGABAT — An RFE/RL correspondent in Turkmenistan has been warned by the authorities about his reporting on the deadly explosions at a weapons depot near the country’s capital last week, RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service reports.

A fire at an armory on a military base in the city of Abadan on July 7 is believed to have set off a series of explosions that sprayed ammunition throughout the city, causing tens of thousands of people to be evacuated as many homes and other structures were burnt down or damaged.

Eyewitnesses say that scores of people were killed and injured by the blasts, but the Turkmen government said only 15 people died.

RFE/RL correspondent Dovletmurad Yazguliyev, who reported on the event, was summoned by security officials on July 14 to appear at the police department in the small town of Annau, a suburb of Ashgabat, where he lives.

Yazguliyev told RFE/RL he went to the station and was questioned by a member of the National Security Ministry who identified himself as Altymyrat Berdiyev. Yazguliyev said he did not think that was his real name.

Yazguliyev was accused by the security officer of «slandering and disseminating provocative information» regarding the Abadan blasts. But he said he replied that he stood by the reports in the blogs he wrote for RFE/RL and suggested that he and the security officers visit Abadan to investigate the facts in his reports.

Yazguliyev, who is in his 40s, said he was treated well and in a polite manner while being questioned.

But he said he was warned that if he is summoned by security forces again because of his blogs he will be charged with «disseminating defamatory information through the media» and «causing national, social, and religious provocations.»

Yazguliyev, who has worked for RFE/RL for about three years, would face prison sentences of two and five years for those charges, respectively, if tried and found guilty.

In his blogs, Yazguliyev was highly critical of the authorities — and the State Security Council — for their slow reaction to the deadly event.

Government officials said for nearly three days that there were no casualties and only minor damage as a result of the explosions.

Yazguliyev also wrote that there were not 15 dead, as the government claimed, but rather that hundreds of people had been killed.

http://www.rferl.org/content/turkmen_journalist_threatened_over_blast_reporting/24267114.html

TASHKENT — The second journalist protesting media censorship in Uzbekistan has ended her hunger strike due to poor health, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reports.
Malohat Eshonqulova told RFE/RL on July 15 that she decided to end her hunger strike after 19 days after she started spitting up blood and could not lift her head.

Eshonqulova added that another reason for ending her strike was that her hospitalized mother-in-law has lapsed into a coma.

Eshonqulova’s colleague, Saodat Omonova, ended her hunger strike on July 12 after being forcibly hospitalized.

Eshonqulova said that once they had recovered they wanted to issue an official statement regarding their hunger strike to international organizations, human rights groups, and journalists.

Omonova and Eshonqulova were detained in Tashkent on June 27 — which is Media Workers’ Day in Uzbekistan — when they tried to start a hunger strike outside President Islam Karimov’s residence.

They were arrested, and a Tashkent district court fined them 2.94 million soms (about $1,500) for holding an unauthorized protest.

The two women were seeking a meeting with Karimov to discuss media censorship at the Yoshlar (Youth) TV station, from which they were both dismissed in December, three days after staging a protest on Tashkent’s main square against media censorship.

They filed a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal against the management of Yoshlar, but on May 31 a district court ruled in favor of the TV station, saying the women’s dismissal was legal. They have appealed that verdict.

Eshonqulova told RFE/RL that since May 2 they have sent 56 letters to Karimov detailing examples of censorship at Yoshlar and requesting a meeting with him. But they have received no response.

http://www.rferl.org/content/second_uzbek_journalist_ends_hunger_strike/24267135.html

Tajikistan has released a correspondent for the BBC who was taken into custody one month ago on suspicion of belonging to a banned Islamic group.

Urunboy Usmonov was freed from jail today in the northern city of Khujand and reunited with his wife, Malohat Abduazimova.

Tajikistan’s Asia-Plus website reported that Tajik Prosecutor General Sherkhon Salimzoda said the government had «studied a criminal case against Usmonov and come to the conclusion [that it] can continue conducting the case without keeping the accused in custody.»

Before he was released, Usmonov told RFE/RL’s Tajik Service correspondent Khiromon Bakoeva by phone that he was «very happy» to be regaining his freedom but not surprised at the turn of events.

«I believed in the justice of Tajikistan’s leaders,» he said. «I am sure that Tajikistan is building a democratic secular state. That is why [my release] was not unexpected for me.»

He spoke only briefly, saying he had been instructed not to give interviews.

Mahmadjon Khayrulloev, a spokesman for the Prosecutor-General’s Office, told RFE/RL earlier that Usmonov’s release was on condition that he did not leave Khujand, in Tajikistan’s northern Sughd Province.

Usmonov, 59, is an ethnic Uzbek citizen of Tajikistan who has worked for the BBC for about 10 years. He was detained on June 13 and accused of belonging to the banned Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which he denies. He has said he met with members of the group in the course of doing his job as a journalist.

In a statement, the BBC World Service said it was «delighted» at his release.

BBC Global News Director Peter Horrocks said, «We are encouraged that Tajik authorities have considered our appeals. As we have said all along we believe Urunboy is innocent and all he was doing was his journalistic work for the BBC.»

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned his arrest as part of the government’s effort to curtail coverage of certain political and religious issues.

As she waited outside the prosecutor’s office for her husband to be released, Malohat Abduazimova told our correspondent that she had only been allowed to see Usmonov once during the month he was detained.

Tajikistan’s Ambassador to Austria Nuriddin Shamsov sent a letter today to the Vienna-based Representative for Freedom of the Media with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Dunja Mijatovic, in which he reinforced Dushanbe’s view on the limits of journalists’ rights.

«Media workers and journalists who perform their duties in a responsible and professional manner and in compliance with the national legislation do not experience any kind of problems in their daily activity,» he said, adding that prosecutions of journalists who have been detained «are taking place openly and transparently and based on rule of law.»

written by Heather Maher based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Tajik and Uzbek services

http://www.rferl.org/content/detained_tajik_bbc_correspondent_to_be_freed/24265591.html

It is now a month since our colleague Urunboy Usmonov was detained by the security services in Tajikistan.

The Tajik authorities have now confirmed that their investigation has been completed and the results have been handed over to the regional prosecutor’s office.

We also note that the Prosecutor General of Tajikistan has requested a summary of the case to be passed to the head of state, President Emomali Rakhmon for information.

The BBC hopes that this process will come to a speedy conclusion and lead to the release of Urunboy Usmonov and the clearing of his name.

The BBC has been clear that it regards the allegations linking the BBC reporter to Hizb ut-Tahrir as completely unfounded.

We believe that meetings and interviews with people representing all shades of opinion are part of the work of any BBC journalist.

We also remain deeply concerned about Urunboy Usmonov’s well being. BBC colleagues have been able to visit and found him to be frail and frightened.

It is now essential that our colleague is released as soon as possible, so that he can return to his family and his work as a respected journalist and writer.

Notes to editors:

Pictures available upon request.

For further information please contact:

Peter Connors
BBC World Service Press Office
Tel: +44 (0)207 557 2941
E-mail: peter.connors@bbc.co.uk

BBC World Service

is an international multimedia broadcaster, delivering a wide range of language and regional services on radio, TV, online and via wireless handheld devices. It uses multiple platforms to reach its weekly audience of 166 million globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. Its news sites include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate. BBC World Service offers its multilingual radio content to partner FM stations around the world and has numerous partnerships supplying content to news websites, mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices as well as TV channels. For more information, visit bbcworldservice.com.

bbcworldservice.com

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS/ REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES

Press release/ Communiqué de presse

13.07.2011

Anglais : http://en.rsf.org/tadjikistan-worldwide-call-for-bbc-29-06-2011,40553.html

Français : http://fr.rsf.org/tadjikistan-en-detention-depuis-un-mois-13-07-2011,40548.html

TAJIKISTAN : After being held for one month, BBC reporter must be freed without delay

Reporters Without Borders reiterates its call for the release of Urinboy Usmonov, a reporter for the BBC’s Uzbek-language service in the northwestern province of Sughd, who has been held by the Tajik security services for exactly a month on suspicion of links to a banned Islamist group.

Prosecutor general Sherkhan Salimzad announced yesterday that the investigation has been completed and that the case been passed to the Sughd provincial prosecutor’s office.

“The fact that a ‘summary’ of the prosecution case has been sent to President Emomali Rakhmon suggests that all the appeals by journalists and the international community have been noted,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The justice system should nonetheless remain in charge of the case, and we hope that the completion of the investigation leads quickly to an impartial resolution that respects the rules of international law.

“As the investigation is now over, there is nothing to prevent this journalist’s conditional release. This should take place without delay. The justice system’s credibility would be greatly reinforced if all the judicial irregularities that have occurred since Usmonov’s arrest were also the subject of a serious investigation.”

Usmonov was arrested on 13 June because of his alleged links with Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an Islamist party that is outlawed in Tajikistan. He had been covering a trial of members of the party for the BBC.

———————-

TADJIKISTAN : En détention depuis un mois, Ourinboï Ousmonov doit être relâché sans délai

Cela fait maintenant un mois que Ourinboï Ousmonov, correspondant du service ouzbek de la BBC, est détenu par les services de sécurité du Tadjikistan. Le 12 juillet 2011, le Procureur général, Cherkhan Salimzade, a annoncé que l’enquête était close et que le dossier avait été transmis au parquet régional de Sughd (nord-ouest).

“L’envoi d’un ‘résumé’ du dossier d’instruction au président de la République Emomali Rakhmon suggère que les nombreux appels de la profession et de la communauté internationale pourraient avoir été entendus. L’affaire doit cependant rester du domaine de la justice, et nous espérons que la clôture de l’enquête mènera à un dénouement rapide et impartial, dans le respect des règles du droit international. L’enquête étant désormais close, plus rien ne s’oppose à la remise en liberté conditionnelle du journaliste. Celle-ci doit intervenir sans délai. Enfin, la crédibilité de la justice serait grandement renforcée si les vices de procédure constatés depuis l’arrestation de M. Ousmonov faisaient aussi l’objet d’une investigation sérieuse”, a déclaré Reporters sans frontières.

Arrêté le 13 juin dernier, le journaliste est poursuivi pour des liens présumés avec le parti islamiste Hizb-ut-Tahrir, illégal au Tadjikistan. M. Ousmonov couvrait les procès des membres du parti, à la demande de la BBC.

—
Johann Bihr (Йоханн Бир)
Reporters sans frontières / Reporters Without Borders

Bureau Europe & Asie centrale / Europe & Central Asia Desk

T : + 33 1 44 83 84 67
F : + 33 1 45 23 11 51
Skype : europarsf

http://en.rsf.org/tadjikistan-worldwide-call-for-bbc-29-06-2011,40553.html

TASHKENT — Two Uzbek journalists on hunger strike to protest media censorship claim that authorities have thwarted their planned press conference, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reports.

Saodat Omonova and Malohat Eshonqulova told RFE/RL that none of the representatives of foreign embassies, international organizations, and human rights organizations invited to their press conference at 10:30 a.m. on July 7 showed up.

Eshonqulova said she believes the embassies did not receive the invitations they sent, while the rights activists and journalists were prevented from coming.

Omonova told RFE/RL that at 10 a.m. the electricity to their house was cut off and up to 20 cars surrounded their home. She said only Surat Ikramov, the head of the Independent Human Rights Defenders of Uzbekistan group, showed up.

Omonova said Zhalol Botiraliev and Dilbar Qosimova, both of them trade union representatives from the Yoshlar (Youth) state TV channel where the two women used to work, also came and that Qosimova started shouting accusations at them.

Omonova said her husband and daughter noticed their home was under surveillance for several days by men in parked cars, and on July 7 by people in police uniform and civilian clothes.

Svetlana Ortiqova, who heads the Uzbek parliament’s legislative and judiciary reform committee, told RFE/RL she did not receive any news about the two journalists and asked RFE/RL to contact her later.

Omonova and Eshonqulova were detained in Tashkent on June 27, which is Media Workers’ Day in Uzbekistan, when they tried to start a hunger strike outside President Islam Karimov’s residence.

They were arrested and a Tashkent district court fined them 2.94 million soms (about $1,500) for holding an unauthorized protest.

The two women were seeking a meeting with Karimov to discuss media censorship at Yoshlar (Youth). They were both dismissed from the station in December, three days after staging a protest on Tashkent’s main square against media censorship.

They filed a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal against the management of Yoshlar, but on May 31 a district court ruled in favor of the TV station, saying the women’s dismissal was legal. They have appealed that verdict.

Eshonqulova told RFE/RL that since May 2 they have sent 56 letters to Karimov detailing examples of censorship at Yoshlar and requesting a meeting with him.

She said that at their protest on June 27, she and Omonova held up placards reading «Dear Islam Karimov, please grant us an audience,» and «We declare a hunger strike.» Today is the 12th day of their hunger strike.

http://www.rferl.org/content/uzbekistan_journalists_hunger_strike/24259987.html

The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program brings accomplished scholars from Tajikistan to the United States to conduct advanced research at U.S. universities for a period of up to one academic year.
Eligibility:

Applicants must be citizens of Tajikistan residing in Tajikistan at the time of application, or permanent residents holding a valid passport issued by Tajikistan. Applicants must hold a doctoral degree or equivalent professional qualification at the time of application.

Eligible Research Fields:

Agriculture

Dance

Mathematics

American History

Economics

Medical Sciences

American Literature

Education

Music

American Studies

Engineering

Philosophy

Anthropology

Environmental Sciences

Physics/Astronomy

Archaeology

Film Studies

Political Science

Architecture

Geography

Psychology

Art

Geology

Public Administration

Art History

History (non-U.S.)

Public/Global Health

Biological Sciences

Information Sciences

Religious Studies

Business Administration

Journalism

Social Work

Chemistry

Language/Literature (non-U.S.)

Sociology

Communications

Law

TEFL/Applied Linguistics

Computer Science

Science

Theater

Creative Writing

Linguistics

Urban Planning

Selection Criteria:

· Applicants must submit a detailed statement of proposed research activity at a U.S. university (only research grants are available for citizens of Tajikistan).

· Applicants must possess English language proficiency sufficient to achieve the project goals.

· Applicant should demonstrate the intrinsic value of the project to the scholar, his/her home institution, home country, and U.S. institution.

· Applicant should demonstrate the ability to serve as a cultural ambassador for Tajikistan.

Grant Benefits:

Round-trip travel from Tajikistan to a host institution in the United States

Full financial support in the United States

Medical insurance

Access to professional and cultural enrichment opportunities

Application Deadline:

The application deadline is October 01, 2011. Potential applicants can access the online application by going to https://apply.embark.com/student/fulbright/scholars/

Nominations are made by the U.S. Embassy and are reviewed in the United States by independent review committees. The J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board has final approval of all nominees.

To receive additional information regarding the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program please contact the U.S. Embassy at (992) 37-229-2314 or KobilovaS@state.gov.

Shafoat Kabilova

Grant Assistant / Alumni Coordinator

U.S. Embassy/Public Diplomacy Section

109 A, I.Somoni Ave., Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Dushanbe, Tajikistan

e-mail: KobilovaS@state.gov

tel: (992-372) 29 23 14
cell phone (98)580 70 67
http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov

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To join the STATE ALUMNI global community, please visit «https://alumni.state.gov» and follow the «Join Now!» link. Interactive and password-protected, alumni.state.gov offers the more than1,000,000 alumni of U.S. government exchange programs a place to network, share information, participate in Q&A Live discussions with experts, and access resources such as grants, jobs, and research databases.

https://alumni.state.gov