KHUJAND, June 29, 2011, Asia-Plus — The results of the preliminary investigation and confrontations give hope that charges brought against Urunboy Usmonov, a reporter for the BBC World Service Central Asian department, will be dropped.
Usmonov’s defense lawyer, Ms. Fayziniso Vohidova, told this in an interview with Asia-Plus. According to her, the investigation has failed to produce evidence to prove that her client is member of the Hizb ut-Tahrir group. “I hope Usmonov will be acquitted of charges brought against him. However, they are trying to charge him with not reporting the Hizb ut-Tahrir activity.”
In the meantime, Urunboy Usmonov met with his colleagues – Mr. Hamid Ismailov, head of the BBC World Service Central Asian department, Mr. Isfandiyor Odina, head of the BBC’s Tajik Service, Ms. Mavlouda Rafiyeva, a reporter for the Asia-Plus news agency in Sughd, and Ms. Guljahon Mahkamova, a correspondent for the Khujand-based weekly Haqiqati Sughd – on June 28.
The meeting was held in the presence of Usmonov’s defense lawyer and representatives from the State Committee for National Security (SCNS)’s office in Sughd province.
We will recall that Urunboy Usmonov, 60, was detained on June 13, 2011 on suspicion of membership in the outlawed extremist religious Hizb ut-Tahrir organization. He faced charge of participation in an extremist group.
According to the SCNS press center, Usmonov allegedly had contacts with representatives of the Hizb ut-Tahrir both inside and outside the country for a long time and actively participated in spreading printed materials disseminating ideas of the Hizb ut-Tahrir party and calling for violent change to the constitutional order of Tajikistan. Investigation is under way. Tajik law enforcement authorities noted that Usmonov joined the banned Islamic movement Hizb ut-Tahrir in 2009 and sought to recruit new members for the group through the Internet. Several people have reportedly made statements confirming this information.
The Supreme Court of Tajikistan formally labeled the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamist group as an extremist organization on March 11, 2008. The ruling followed a request submitted to the court by Tajik chief prosecutor. Although the group has been outlawed in Tajikistan since April 2001, the ruling means even tighter restrictions on the group”s presence on the Internet and its use of media to promote its ideology.
