DUSHANBE, December 17, Asia-Plus — A court in Dushanbe’s Firdavsi district postponed hearing of case of three female reporters for the Dushanbe tabloid newspaper
Ovoza
(Rumors) again today as experts, who had carried out linguistic examination of an article critical of a Tajik singer Raihona Rahimova, did not come to the court.
As it has been reported earlier, the hearing was adjourned on December 14 until December 17 for the same reason.
We will recall the trial of the reporters was resumed on December 13. The trial that began on October 10 this year was suspended on October 17.
According to Inoyat Inoyatov, defense lawyer of the journalists, members of the expert group from the Institute of [Tajik] Language and Literature could not be present in the hearing because they had meeting at the institute, “and the hearing was adjourned today until Tuesday”. Inoyatov said that researchers with the Institute of [Tajik] Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences – Sayfiddin Nazarzoda, Sayfiddin Mirzoyev and Ghiyosiddin Qodirov, had carried out the repeat linguistic examination.
“We hoped that they will explain the results of the examination to the court and ruling on this case will be handed down at the court already today,” the lawyer said, reiterating that the repeat linguistic examination says that the article does not contain elements of insult. “Experts defined the article as art-journalistic genre with element of critic”.
In the meantime, claimant – Raihona Rahimova, told Asia-Plus that the judge on Friday suggested that the problem should be settled by negotiations. “I agreed but only in the event if the defendants apologize and admit that they were not right. Moreover, I do not demand that they should present apologies through media, because I do not want to humiliate them,” the singer said.
However, defendants refused turned down the proposal and their defense lawyer said that they would continue disputing their position.
Meanwhile, according to some sources, the final decision on the hearing will be taken most likely at the end of December because judges with the Firdavsi court will be engaged in preparing reports on the work carried out in 2007. They should submit the reports for consideration to the superior bodies before December 25.
Three female reporters for the tabloid newspaper
Ovoza
, Farangis Nabiyeva, Muhayo Nozimova, and Saida Qurbonova (editor of
Ovoza
), face charges of insult, libel and illegal collection and spread of information about private life.
Farangis Nabiyeva and Muhayo Nozimova coauthored the article critical of singer Raihona Rahimova titled “Raihona pi-pi-pi Afghoniston” (Ovoza, # 25, June 21, 2007).
Raihona lodged an application to the Dushanbe city prosecutor’s office o July 11, claiming the article by Muhayo Nozimova and Farangis Nabiyeva had allegedly defamed her. Following the application, the Dushanbe prosecutor’s office instituted criminal proceedings against them and the
Ovoza
editor Saida Qurbonova.
The journalists released an open letter to President Emomali Rahmon on August 20, asking to intercede on their behalf after the Dushanbe prosecutor’s office formally initiated criminal libel case against them for “insulting” a singer. They argued that their joint article critical of Raihona Rahimova published in
Ovoza
did not constitute grounds for instituting criminal proceedings. They defended the singer’s right to defend her honor, dignity, and business reputation, but said that the issue would be better settled by a civil court.
Media rights groups have also 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.
