KHUJAND, September 12, 2011, Asia-Plus — A roundtable dedicated to International Day of Journalists’ Solidarity took place in Khujand, the capital of Sughd province on September 8.
Organized by the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan (Nansmit), the meeting brought together twenty representatives of local media outlets, public associations, local authorities and international organizations active in the province to discuss issues related to solidarity among journalists.
Speaking at the meeting, Ms. Muhabbat Jourayeva, a lawyer with the Center for Legal Support for Media also director of the Human Rights Center “Your Lawyer,” noted that trials of BBC correspondent Urunboy Usmonov and Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov, a journalist with the
Nouri Zindagi
weekly, are going on in the area.
Ms. Jourayeva is the defense lawyer of Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov and she noted that the prosecution has failed to produce evidences supporting charges brought against her client.
Mr. Ismoilov is charged with inciting religious and racial hatred (article 189 of the criminal code), blackmail (article 250), defamation (article 135) and insult (article 136) for what he wrote in various publications including the newspaper
Nouri Zindagi
about alleged corruption by local judicial and political officials. Ismoilov has been held in custody since November 23, 2010.
Speaking at the meeting, BBC correspondent Urunboy Usmonov appreciated Nansmit’s support for him and financial support provided to his family. He noted that he would hand over that money to Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov.
The meeting participants unanimously decided to appeal to President Emomali Rahmon asking him to release Ismoilov from custody. They also made a decision to set up a special fund for supporting journalists who found themselves in extreme situation.
International Day of Journalists’ Solidarity is marked worldwide since 1958, when the 4th Congress of the International Organization of Journalists was held in Bucharest. It is confined to the day of execution of the Czech anti-fascist journalist Julius Fucik by Nazis on September 8, 1943.
