DUSHANBE — Wednesday, April 28, 2010 — Several non-state, Tajik newspapers are being attacked by influential representatives of Tajikistan’s judicial power.

The attacks, organized by the Tajik Supreme Court, have raised concerns among the country’s media and diplomatic communities.

The attacks concern the demands of two Tajik Supreme Court judges and a Dushanbe city court judge — Nur Nurov, Ulugbek Makhmadshoev and Fakhriddin Dodometov respectively — that three, private, weekly newspapers pay them $1.2 million (5.5 Somoni) for printing comments the judges say have defamed their honor, dignity and business reputations. They are demanding the compensation for “moral damage.”

Specifically, their complaints concern comments made by lawyer Solejon Juraev at a conference late last year during which Juraev is reported to have said that Nurov had violated defendants’ rights and that a verdict in his court was unjust.

The papers, which include Farazh, Ozodagon and Asia Plus, printed Juraev’s comments but say they did not print editorial opinions about them.

The judge’s lawsuits may lead to the closure of the papers and some consider the suits to be a tool for a “financial killing” of the news outlets.

Daily newspapers disappeared in Tajikistan the early 1990s, right after the beginning of the protracted civil war. Ever since, there have been only weekly newspapers, which, time after time, have had a difficult time covering the news as a result of too few financial and human resources.

In recent years, the authorities have also closed down many non-state papers and private printing facilities. Observers have noted that the closures mainly occur on the eve of political elections. The phenomenon has been recorded in detail in numerous reports issued by international security organizations and human rights watchdog groups.

“Such persecutions force editors and journalists to apply tough self-censorship in fear of punishment or closure of their outlets,” Lidia Isamova, a Tajik media expert told Central Asia Newswire (CAN).

Many international organizations and media communities – both local and foreign – have expressed concern about the situation. Media experts say such attacks on non-state media limit freedom of speech and expression and increase self censorship among Tajik journalists.

“Persecution of citizens, in particular, rights advocates, who use their constitutional freedoms, criticizing the judicial and executive powers, as well as the application of punitive measures against those who freely express their opinions, contradicts the democratic principles and damages Tajikistan’s reputation,” reads the public statement issued by the Tajik Union of Journalists in April.

Last week, editors of the three papers issued a joint statement complaining about violations of the Tajik law by the judges. Nuriddin Karshibaev, chairman of the Tajik National Association of Independent Media (NANSMIT) told CAN that the Tajik Supreme Court ignores statements made by defendants and codefendants.

“The NANSMIT monitoring service closely watches the hearings, and we clearly see numerous violations of legal procedures,” Karshibaev said.

And in a March 30 press release from the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, Ambassador Kenneth Gross said, “We are very concerned with freedom of press here in Tajikistan. And what we are hoping for is the court case validates the freedom of press here.

«It is extremely important in any country that the press has the opportunity to report freely what happens, without any restrictions, threats, or punishments through judicial means or otherwise, and we are here today to observe and see what happens in court. Hopefully, the court will uphold the principle of freedom of press.”

For its side of the dispute, Nusratullo Abdulloev, chairman of the Tajikistan Supreme Court speaking at a press conference 19 April in Dushanbe, told the media he was unable to comment on the legal actions against the three Tajik newspapers which are currently being decided.

“I can only evaluate the validity and legitimacy of the court’s verdict when it is made,” he said.

Konstantin Parshin, http://www.centralasianewswire

Источник: http://www.centralasianewswire.com/viewstory.aspx?id=471