The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for the immediate release of independent journalist Khurshed Fozilov after a Tajik court rejected his appeal of a seven-year prison sentence for allegedly sending reports to the Akhbor news website that the state banned and labeled an “extremist” organization.
Fozilov, known for his coverage of social issues, was convicted in May after a two-day closed door trial at the Sughd regional court even though he has said he stopped working with the website after it was banned in 2020.
His lawyer subsequently filed an appeal with the regional court, which was rejected on July 12. The rejection was announced during a recent Supreme Court news conference on August 14.
“Tajik authorities’ rejection of journalist Khurshed Fozilov’s appeal serves to highlight how the courts have facilitated the criminalization of the press in the country,” Carlos Martínez de la Serna, the CPJ’s program director in New York, said in a statement.
“Fozilov is at least the seventh Tajik journalist to be sentenced to a lengthy prison term in the past year. Authorities must release him and all other jailed members of the press at once, and thoroughly investigate allegations that Fozilov was mistreated in custody to force a confession.”
The 37-year-old father of three is a freelance journalist who has cooperated with several independent media outlets, including the independent website Akhbor, which is based outside the country.
He often covered social issues and problems faced by ordinary people in Sughd and was critical of the local government. He has been active on social media networks as well.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, who has run the Central Asian nation for almost 30 years, has been criticized by international human rights groups over his administration’s alleged disregard for independent media, religious freedoms, civil society, and political pluralism in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.
In the past year alone, several journalists and bloggers have been handed prison sentences with terms ranging from seven to 20 years, often based on accusations of collaborating with extremist, or banned organizations.
The journalists who were sentenced, aong with their supporters and human rights groups, have called the charges trumped up and politically motivated.
Tajikistan was ranked 152nd in Reporters Without Borders’ 2022 World Press Freedom Index, and designated “Not Free” in Freedom House’s 2022 Global Freedom Status.
Source : RFERL