DUSHANBE, June 18, 2011, Asia-Plus — Reporters Without Borders is very concerned to learn that Urunboy Usmonov, a reporter for the BBC World Service’s Uzbek-language service, is being held in a police station in the city of Khujand for allegedly belonging to Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a non-violent Islamist movement that is banned throughout Central Asia, a statement released by Reporters Without Borders on June 17 said.
“We call on the Tajik police and judicial authorities to clarify the nature of Usmonov’s detention and to produce evidence of the allegations being made against him,” Reporters Without Borders said. “So far, it is the police who have behaved illegally in this case.”
The interior ministry claimed that Usmonov joined Hizb-ut-Tahrir in 2009 and that he had “promoted” it in his reports and on online social networks. But in a statement, the BBC said he had covered the trials of Hizb-ut-Tahrir activists at its request and that it had no reason to believe the allegations.
Alisher Sidiqov, the head of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Uzbek service and a former colleague of Usmonov, told Reporters Without Borders that Usmonov often covered Hizb-ut-Tahrir and other sensitive subjects, such as border problems and the very controversial Roghun dam project, the source of considerable tension between Tajikistan and neighboring Uzbekistan.
“Usmonov has nothing in common with an extremist and his stories are never biased,” Sidiqov said. “But he is always very critical of the Tajik and Uzbek authorities. He is a very independent person and I cannot imagine him submitting to the discipline of a clandestine movement. He is also the president of the Uzbek section of the Union of Tajik Writers. A clandestine organization would never allow the representative of an official body to become a member. For all these reasons, he is the last person I would suspect of belonging to this organization.”
Reporters Without Borders said: “There is little doubt that Usmonov was arrested because of his journalistic activities. “Using the fight against extremism in order to crack down on dissidents is standard practice in Tajikistan. In the absence of hard evidence, the authorities must free him unconditionally at once.
“As far as we know, nothing was taken from his home. Nonetheless, we warn the police against trying to criminalize the mere possession of Hizb-ut-Tahrir leaflets. Such abuses are common throughout Central Asia and they were used as grounds for making outrageous charges against RFE/RL reporter Alisher Saipov, who was murdered in Kyrgyzstan in 2007. People who have received leaflets should not be confused with the activists who distribute them. Being aware of press releases and statements is an integral part of a journalist’s work.”
Some Reporters Without Borders contacts said Usmonov’s arrest could also be an attempt to intimidate the Uzbek community in Tajikistan, which is increasing being made to pay for a diplomatic dispute between Dushanbe and Tashkent.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on June 16 condemned the detention and reported beating in custody of Urunboy Usmonov, a local correspondent for the BBC Central Asia service, and called for his immediate release.
In a statement issued on June 15, the BBC World Service denied the allegations and demanded Usmonov’s immediate release: “Usmonov has reported on the judicial trials and activities of the Hizb ut-Tahrir party in Tajikistan at the request of the BBC, the BBC has no reason to believe these allegations.”
Usmonov’s family said that the journalist appeared to have been beaten up, the statement said. Before his arrest, Usmonov returned home with several police officers who searched his house, the BBC reported.
“These charges against Urunboy Usmonov are nothing but an attempt to censor coverage of sensitive political and religious issues,” CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney said. “Authorities must release him immediately.
