In this legal analysis, ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression, reviews the Law on Print and Other Mass Media of the Republic of Tajikistan (the Media Law), adopted in 2013. The Media Law is reviewed for its compliance with international standards on freedom of expression.
In the analysis, ARTICLE 19 appreciates a number of positive features, in particular:
- The Media Law recognises that international treaties, to which Tajikistan is a party, apply to the regulation of media;
- It proclaims that media in Tajikistan are free and that everyone has a right to seek, obtain and distribute information, express his/her convictions and distribute them in the mass media;
- It bans censorship and persecution for criticism and establishes legal liability for violations of the freedom of media.
At the same time, ARTICLE 19 finds that the Media Law includes a number of provisions that are in breach of international freedom of expression standards, in particular, the regulations dealing with:
- media registration,
- content restrictions,
- the right of reply and refutation,
- access to state information,
- the protection of confidential information,
- the accreditation of journalists,
- duties of journalists, and
- the accreditation of foreign media.
We call on the Tajikistan authorities to review the Media Law and bring it into full compliance with international freedom of expression standards. We also recommend that the authorities encourage public debate on the reform of this law and other legislation relating to freedom of expression.
See more at: http://www.article19.org/
