DUSHANBE, October 8, 2013, Asia-Plus — The first hearing over a defamation lawsuit filed by the Islamic Revival Party (IRP) against the Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting and three national TV channels began in a court in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district on October 8.
“The Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting under the Government of Tajikistan is the defendant and three national television channels –
Safina
,
Shabaaki Avval
and
Jahonnamo
– are co-defendants,” IRP’s defense lawyer, Buzurgmehr Yorov, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, the first deputy head of the Ismoili Somoni district, Hofiz Temirov, who is presiding over the trial, ordered the Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting to submit its opinion of the lawsuit, filed against it, to the court before October 14.
“The defendant’s defense lawyer asked the court to give him time to familiarize himself with the lawsuit,” Yorov noted.
The Islamic Revival Party reportedly filed the defamation lawsuit against the Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting on September 19.
In its lawsuit, the IRP notes that the Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting spread anti-IRP propaganda through the national TV and radio stations as the pre-election campaign started in the country. The IRP asked the defendant to officially apologize and stop the information campaign discrediting the Islamic Revival Party.
Founded in October 1990, the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan was registered on December 4, 1991. It was banned by the Supreme Court in June 1993 and legalized in August 1999. Its official newspaper is
Najot
(Salvation). According to some sources, IRP now has some 50,000 members. It won two seats in the 2010 parliamentary elections. The Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan is the only Islamic party registered in CIS Central Asia.
