DUSHANBE -- The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the imprisonment of noted Tajik journalist Abdullo Ghurbati, who was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison on October 4 on charges that he and his supporters have called unfounded.
In a statement issued hours after Ghurbati's verdict and sentence were pronounced in Dushanbe, the CPJ called the punishment "harsh and unjustified."
A court in Dushanbe found Ghurbati guilty of publicly insulting an authority, the minor assault of an authority, and participating in the activities of an extremist group.
Ghurbati pleaded not guilty to all charges and called the case against him groundless.
Ghurbati and blogger Daleri Imomali, known for his articles critical of the government, were detained on June 15 and subsequently sent to pretrial detention for two months.
Imomali was charged with illegal entrepreneurship and premeditated false denunciation. His trial is pending.
“Authorities in Tajikistan should refrain from contesting Ghurbati’s appeal, immediately release him, Imomali, and all other journalists currently imprisoned for their work, and stop their campaign of intimidation against the country’s beleaguered independent press,” said CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, Gulnoza Said, in the statement.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has been criticized by international human rights groups for years over his disregard for independent media, religious freedoms, civil society, and political pluralism in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.
