Journalist sentenced to 10 years

The court sentenced Daler Imomali to 10 years in prison confinement.

Photo: Internet

According to Radio Ozodi, citing relatives of the journalist, Daler Imomali was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. The trial took place in the pre-trial detention center in Dushanbe. According to his relatives, the court also ordered him to pay a fine, the amount of which is currently unknown.

It was previously reported that the state prosecutor demanded 10.5 years of imprisonment for the journalist.

The court found Daler Imomali guilty of providing knowingly false information about a crime, illegal entrepreneurship, and participating in the activities of extremist organizations. It was reported earlier that the journalist partially admitted his guilt in illegal entrepreneurship but rejected other charges.

Tajik journalist and blogger Daler Imomali was detained in the Ayni district on the morning of June 15 while he was heading to the Kanibadam district of the Sughd region for filming a movie. On his Facebook page, he left a brief message: “If something happens to me, I am at the Ayni police station. I was heading to Kanibadam for filming a movie.”

On the same day, he was taken to Dushanbe. Later, the journalist was arrested by court order for two months. The authorities accused him of cooperating with the political movement “Group 24.” The journalist himself, as well as the leadership of the “Group 24,” stated that the journalist did not cooperate with and was not a member of this political movement.

Recently, law enforcement agencies have intensified pressure on bloggers and journalists. In less than two months, 7 journalists and bloggers have been detained and imprisoned.

Journalistic and human rights organizations have appealed to the authorities of Tajikistan demanding the immediate release of Daler Imomali, Abdullo Gurbati, Zavkibek Saidamini, Abdusatdor Pirmukhammadzoda, and other journalists. But the authorities, as always, ignore the demands of international organizations.

Some civil society activists condemned the sentence against Daler Imomali. Earlier, expert Abdumannon Sheraliyev wrote that the prosecutor demanded 10.5 years of imprisonment, but the court would reduce the sentence by 6 months and sentence him to 10 years. The court has the “right” to reduce the sentence by exactly that much to demonstrate its independence, as according to the decree, he needs to be sent to prison for 10 years.