KHUJAND, September 17, 2011, Asia-Plus — Journalists were not allowed attending the court hearing on a lawsuit filed by Asht authorities against journalist Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov that was held on September 16 in the building of Khujand pretrial detention facility # 2. Representatives of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan (Nansmit) were also not allowed attending the hearing.
Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov has been held in custody since November 23, 2010. 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.
Journalists and representatives from the OSCE Office and Nansmit applied to Naim Mansourov, the chairman of the Sughd regional court, asking to clarify the reason for not allowing journalist to attend the hearing which is open to all interested stakeholders. Mansourov said that most likely, it was misunderstanding and after telephone conversation with Ms. Justice Saodat Atoyeva, who is presiding over the trial, he assured that journalists would be allowed to attend the hearing.
Ms. Atoyeva noted that journalists had not been allowed to attend the hearing because she had forgot the seal in her office, and therefore, she had failed to certify the list of journalists monitoring the hearing.
In the meantime, Ismoilov’s defense lawyer, Ms. Muhabbat Jourayeva, considers that the hearing was transferred to the building of the pretrial detention facility in order to restrict journalists’ access to the hearing.
She noted that according the results of linguistic examination of Ismoilov’s articles carried out by the Institute of Tajik Language and Literature and Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences, the articles by Ismoilov allegedly contained insulting facts that could lead to incitement of regional enmity. Ms. Jourayev said she disagreed with the examination results.
We will recall that Reporters Without Borders (RWB) and the National Association of Independent Mass Media in Tajikistan(Nansmit) wrote to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on September 7 asking him ensure that detained journalist Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov gets a fair trial and an immediate conditional release pending the outcome of the trial. RWB and Nansmit note that in order to respect the principle of the presumption of innocence, Mr. Ismoilov must also be granted provisional release without delay. “Pre-trial detention is a serious measure that seems out of all proportion in this case,” says the letter. “He is not in a position to put pressure on witnesses or eliminate evidence. Depriving Mr. Ismoilov of his freedom seems more like an act of personal revenge than an act of impartial justice.” “As president, you have a duty to ensure that Mr. Ismoilov is treated in a fair and equitable manner and that national and international rules of justice are respected. We trust that you will appreciate the important of our request and will take the appropriate action.”
Participants in a roundtable dedicated to International Day of Journalists’ Solidarity that took place in Khujand on September 8 decided to appeal to President Emomali Rahmon asking him to release Ismoilov from custody.
