Tajikistan
Government official prosecutes independent magazine for investigative reportPosted Feb 9 2011
The weekly magazine Asia-Plus is being prosecuted for a million solomi ($227,307) by Anvar Tagaimurodov, the head of Tajikistan’s Organized Crime Control Department (UBOP), according to Reporters Without Borders.
Reporter Ramzii Mirzobekov’s December story about the use of torture by UBOP against suspects in Sughd province is the reason behind the lawsuit.
Tagaimurodov alleges that the story is “defamatory and offensive news” and damages his “honor, dignity, and reputation,” according to Reporters Without Borders.
Mirzobekov has been called in for questioning by prosecutors about the facts in her article. However, journalists believe that this is an attempt to identify her sources.
She has also been denied access to a lawyer, according to a joint statement by The Union of Journalists of Tajikistan (UJT) and the National Association of Independent Mass Media (NANSMIT).
In the statement, issued on Jan. 31, both organizations express their concern over the persecution of journalists and violation of Tajikistani citizens’ right to freedom of speech.
They call for government agencies to “stop any violations of constitutional rights in the country, in particular, the right to expression and access to information.”