DUSHANBE, April 23, 2011, Asia-Plus — Equipment from the offices of the independent Tajik weekly,
Paikon
, has been confiscated in line with a court-imposed fine of 300,000 somoni (equivalent to $67,153) for libeling state consumer-protection agency Tojikstandart, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported on April 22.
Paikon
correspondent Ahliddin Salimpour told RFE/RL that court bailiffs took two computers, a scanner, and a printer from the newspaper”s offices.
Tojikstandart brought the defamation suit after
Paikon
in 2009 published a statement from a group of businessmen who accused the product-safety watchdog of obstructing their activities.
In October 2009, Dushanbe”s Firdavsi district court ordered
Paikon
to pay 300,000 somoni in compensation to Tojikstandart.
Tajik lawyer Shuhrat Qudratov argued that the property confiscated by the court did not belong to
Paikon
but to the Bureau of Linguistic Expertise, Legal Advice, and Journalistic Investigations which, like
Paikon
, belongs to journalist Jumaboy Tolibov.
Nouriddin Qarshiboyev, chairman of the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan (Nansmit), alleged that the court case against
Paikon
was aimed not at ensuring that justice prevailed but at “strik[ing] fear in the hearts” of journalists.
Paikon
has a weekly print run of 2,000 copies. Its editors are hoping that other newspapers will agree to publish reports written by
Paikon
journalists in the event that it cannot continue publishing.
Such mutual assistance is becoming increasingly common among hard-pressed independent publications in Tajikistan facing official pressure.
