DUSHANBE, October 14, 2011, Asia-Plus – A court in the city of Khujand has ruled that Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov, a reporter for the Dushanbe-based independent weekly
Nouri Zindagi
(Light of Life) in Sughd’s Asht district must pay a fine of 35,000 somoni (equivalent to some 7,300 U.S. dollars).
By a ruling handed down at the Khujand city on October 14, Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov was released in the courtroom.
Ismoilov faced defamation, insult and extortion charges. The court overturned the charge of extortion brought against the journalist. However, Ismoilov will have to pay a fine of 35,000 somoni.
Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov told the trial on October 13 that he is not guilty of the charges brought against him. In his final statement on Thursday, he said he sought simply to have shortcomings rectified, and that he was detained for his activities as a journalist. Ismoilov called on the court to acquit and release him.
Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov was arrested last November on separate counts of defamation, insult, and incitement to hatred over an article titled, “Asht Is Being Destroyed. Who Is Responsible for It?” In the article, published in the August 2010 issue of
Nouri Zindagi
, Ismoilov criticized government and law enforcement officials in the Asht district in the northern Sughd province of Tajikistan, and cited corruption, abuse of office, and mismanagement of funds.
At a hearing on September 29, prosecutors asked the court to convict Ismoilov and sentence him to 16 years in jail.
Local and international press freedom advocates wrote an open letter to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in early September, calling on him to ensure a fair trial for Ismoilov.
On October 10, the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, said in a statement that if journalists who criticize government officials face criminal charges, lengthy investigative detention, and punitive prison sentences, Tajikistan risks stifling public discourse.
In a statement released on October 13, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the Tajik authorities to drop the trumped-up criminal charges against BBC correspondent Urunboy Usmonov and Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov, a reporter with
Nouri Zindagi
in northern Tajikistan and release them immediately and unconditionally. Both journalists are being punished for nothing other than their independent reporting on issues of public interest, the statement noted.
