The international organization has called on the authorities of Tajikistan to stop terrorizing the remnants of the country’s independent press. Photo: Internet The international organization Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the verdict against Daler Imomali in its statement. The coordinator of the committee’s program in Europe and Central Asia, Gulnoza Said, stated: “From the […]
The international organization has called on the authorities of Tajikistan to stop terrorizing the remnants of the country’s independent press.
Photo: InternetThe international organization Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the verdict against Daler Imomali in its statement.
The coordinator of the committee’s program in Europe and Central Asia, Gulnoza Said, stated:
“From the very beginning, it was clear that the case against Daler Imomali was aimed at demonstrating that the critical public journalism he practiced is unacceptable and to increase pressure on the Tajik press to induce self-censorship. The harsh sentence confirms this.”
She called on the authorities of Tajikistan to immediately release journalist Daler Imomali and all other journalists currently in detention.
She also urged an end to the abuse of the judicial system to terrorize what remains of the country’s independent press.
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 previously reported 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 heading to the Kanibadam district of the Sughd region to shoot a film. 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 to shoot a film.”
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 or belong to 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.
Imomali and another imprisoned journalist, Abdullo Gurbati, worked together on Imomali’s YouTube channel, covering social issues and citizens’ complaints about the authorities for their nearly 150,000 subscribers. Local press freedom defenders previously reported to the Committee to Protect Journalists that the bold style of the journalists in criticizing the authorities and highlighting local residents’ problems is unusual for Tajikistan, and the popularity of the channel grew rapidly over several months leading up to the arrests of both journalists in June.