DUSHANBE, August 20, Asia-Plus — On Friday August 17, Three female reporters for the tabloid newspaper
Ovoza
, Farangis Nabiyeva, Muhayo Nozimova and Saida Qurbonova (
Ovoza
editor), have appealed to President Emomali Rahmon over charge brought against them, asking for assistance in reasonable settlement of the problem.
The reporters told Asia-Plus that they had decided to appeal to the president because the case is most likely politically motivated.
In their appeal, the reporters note that they want the case to be considered within the framework of law. “Legal experts have already expressed their opinion on charges brought against us and noted that there were no grounds for instituting criminal proceedings and the case should be considered within the framework of civil legal proceedings,” said the appeal, “However, the Dushanbe prosecutor’s office has instituted criminal proceedings against us and the most interesting thing that the case was remitted for further investigation to the Dushanbe police directorate.”
In their appeal, the reporters say that when they were viewing video of Raihona’s concert in Afghanistan they were shamed of the singer, who, in their opinion, disgraced Tajikistan by her indecent behavior. The video was also enclosed with the appeal. “We are concerned about prestige of our country on international arena,” the appeal said.
The reporters also said that they were surprised at position of the Dushanbe prosecutor’s office over the case. “They persistently try to prove that we are really guilty,” said the appeal, “Such a position suggests an idea to us that besides “protection of dignity and honor of Raihona,” something else that we do not know lies in this case.”
We will recall that Farangis Nabiyeva and Muhayo Nozimova coauthored the critical article of singer Raihona titled “Raihona pi-pi-pi Afghoniston” (Ovoza, # 25, June 21, 2007).
On July 11, Raihona lodged an application to the Dushanbe city prosecutor’s office, claiming the article by Muhayo Nozimova and Farangis Nabiyeva had allegedly defamed her. The journalists face charges under Article 135, Part 2 (defamation) and 136, Part, Point “A” (insult) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code.
The singer also sent a letter to the president and the parliament.
The
Ovoza
editor Saida Qurbonova noted that in their article, the reporters referred to the website
www.mynet.tj
as the primary source.
Media rights groups have criticized Tajik prosecutors for opening criminal cases against the reporters. Media advocacy groups in Tajikistan and Russia called on Dushanbe to stop prosecuting journalists for their professional activity.
