Details of the Abdullo Gurbati case

Six months later, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan revealed some details of the case of journalist Abdullo Gurbati.

Photo: Internet

On October 3, the press center of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan published a statement revealing details of the case against the convicted journalist Gurbatov Avazmad Umaralievich, known by the pseudonym Abdullo Gurbati.

The main charges brought by the General Prosecutor’s Office against the convicted journalist Abdullo Gurbati include subscribing to the YouTube channel Azda TV, as well as insulting and physically assaulting a police officer.

“In 2021-2022, Gurbatov A.U. published several open and veiled articles and posts on the social network Facebook, in which he systematically discredited the policies of the state and government of the Republic of Tajikistan; such actions by Gurbatov A.U. exhibit signs of extremist activity,” the statement said.

The General Prosecutor’s Office claims that Abdullo Gurbati “subscribed to the YouTube channel Azda TV on November 13, 2019, which is linked to one of the extremist and terrorist organizations, the ‘National Alliance’ and the ‘Islamic Revival Party,’ followed its videos, and used them to color his programs.” However, the YouTube channel Azda TV officially began its activities in July 2020.

Without any facts or evidence, photographs from the scene, or testimonies from “victims,” the General Prosecutor’s Office claims that this journalist, who weighs only 54 kilograms, “upon exiting the building of the OVD-1 in the Shohmansur district of Dushanbe, encountered the head of OVD-1, Major of Police Muradov D.Zh.,” insulted him, and then “using force, tore off the left epaulet and four buttons from Muradov D.Zh.’s uniform and struck him in the neck in the presence of citizens.”

Journalist Abdullo Gurbati was sentenced on October 4 to 7 years and 6 months in a high-security penal colony.