Since the arrests of seven bloggers and journalists, the work of the media in Tajikistan has become much more difficult and the “red line” of self-censorship, which must not be crossed, has been narrowed, media experts say.
On the evening of October 17, the Shohmansur district court of Dushanbe sentenced the well-known Tajik journalist and blogger Daler Imomali to 10 years in prison and a fine. He was found guilty of running an illegal business, spreading knowingly false information, and being a member of the banned organization “Group 24”. Details of the trial are not yet publicly available.
Two weeks earlier the same court sentenced journalist Abdullo Ghurbati to 7.5 years in prison on charges of using violence and insulting police officers, as well as ties with the Islamic Renaissance Party, which is banned in Tajikistan.
The trials of both journalists were held in pre-trial detention facilities and were not open to the media.
Recall that Daler Imomali and Abdullo Ghurbati were detained in June 2022. An international organization Reporters Without Borders stated that journalists were prosecuted for their journalistic activities, in violation of Tajik and international law.
Participants in Abdullo Ghurbati’s trial say that despite the charges of beating and insulting three policemen, as well as membership in a banned organization, the main dispute was over some critical posts by the journalist on social media.
On his Facebook page, the journalist sharply criticized the authorities over several predominantly social problems, including the “draft raid” of students.
Meanwhile, the trials of two other journalists – Zavkibek Saidamini and Abdusattor Pirmukhammadzoda are also taking place behind closed doors in the Dushanbe pre-detention center.
Zavkibek Saidamini was detained by Vakhdat police on July 8 this year. He is accused of collaborating with the country’s banned Islamic Renaissance Party and the opposition Group 24 movement and faces a prison term of five to eight years. Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda was detained on July 9 this year on suspicion of extremism. He could face 3 to 5 years in prison.
The media are not allowed to conduct trials against journalists. Neither the judge nor the defense disclosed any details of the trial.
Particularly, Shahmansoor District Court Judge Behruz Shafo, who had previously sentenced Abdullo Ghurbati to 7.5 years in prison, refused to talk to journalists after the trial. Lawyers say the authorities clearly do not have enough facts to prove the allegations they have made.
Lawyer and human rights activist Shuhrat Qudratov says that according to Article 273 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Tajikistan, all court proceedings must be conducted in public. Exceptions are possible in cases where the trial may lead to the disclosure of the state and other secrets or in some cases of juveniles, as well as to ensure the safety of participants in the process and witnesses, members of their families, or close relatives.
According to Qudratov, at the beginning of the hearing, the judge was supposed to motivate the reasons why the trial was held in private. However, this did not happen.
“All the charges against them are questionable. That’s why trials are held in closed sessions. If the investigating authorities were firmly convinced of the charges against journalists, they would never hold such proceedings behind closed doors,” says the lawyer.
Before and after 2015
Mazhab Dzhum’a, a correspondent of the Asia-Plus news agency, came to journalism in 2012. He divides his 10 years of work in the media into two periods – before and after 2015. According to him, before the beginning of 2015, the working conditions for journalists in Tajikistan were relatively free, with 3-4 professional and influential private media outlets operating in the country. However, “the horizons of freedom of speech are narrowing day by day.”
While at the beginning of his career there were virtually no topics that journalists could not talk about, 10 years later the situation changed dramatically.
“The arrest of Abdullo Ghurbati and Daler Imomali showed that there is a red line in social issues, and that red line must not be crossed. That is, now our stories on any topic, even social ones, may not please some officials and they may complain and even put journalists in jail. In 2012, it was possible to meet with ministers and heads of state committees and talk to them. Now it is impossible to get information even from the most rank-and-file specialist of the institution,” says Mazhab Dzhum’a.
Since the May 2022 protests in Gorno-Badakhshan, authorities have arrested seven bloggers and journalists: Ulfatkhonum Mamadshoeva, Khushruz Ghulom, Muhammadi Sultan, Abdullo Ghurbati, Daler Imomali, Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda, and Zavkibek Saidamini. The arrest of such a large number of journalists in a row is a unique event in Tajikistan in at least the last 10 years.
Although according to human rights defenders, pressure on freedom of expression in the country has increased since 2012, it has intensified significantly after 2015.
In September 2015, Tajik authorities announced that former Deputy Minister of Defense, major-general Abdukhalim Nazarzoda had attempted, with the assistance of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, to commit an armed mutiny.
The authorities then declared the Islamic Renaissance Party a terrorist group. At the same time, dozens of Tajik journalists were forced to leave the country.
But compared to 116th place in Reporters Without Borders’ rating of freedom of speech in 2015, Tajikistan dropped to 162nd place in 2021.
Nevertheless, the country’s authorities have always denied accusations of restricting freedom of speech. Officials from the Ministry of Culture have repeatedly stated that Tajikistan’s legislation provides every opportunity for free media activity. One of the officials’ arguments is that 75 percent of Tajikistan’s print media are non-governmental. However, what has happened in Tajikistan over the past ten years calls into question such statements.
Since 2015, several professional media outlets in the country have stopped operating – the weekly newspapers TojNews, Nigoh, and the Ozodagon. These media outlets criticized the government and refused to publish articles ordered by the authorities. The remaining media are forced to refrain from covering many problematic topics.
In May 2022 the news agency Asia-Plus stated that it could not cover the protests in the Gorno-Badakhshan region due to an official warning from the General Prosecutor’s Office. Other local media outlets covering the protests in Gorno-Badakhshan mostly relayed reports from official bodies.
Why did the authorities increase pressure on the media?
According to Tajik media expert Abdumalik Kadyrov, internal factors are the main reason for the increased pressure on journalists. Most notably, the authorities’ unwillingness to listen to the truth.
“Free-thinking journalists covered events truthfully, and this was not in the interests of the ruling authorities,” says Kadyrov.
According to him, there are also external factors – the deteriorating situation in the region and the pressure on the media in Russia.
“The Tajik authorities felt that they were their own masters. When they saw that Russia – their main partner – began putting pressure on the media, they followed suit,” says Abudmalik Kadyrov.
In his opinion, with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the Western superpowers, which used to be the main defenders of civil liberties, began to pay more attention to security issues in the region.
“They turn a blind eye to problems with civil liberties in order to prevent escalation of tensions in Tajikistan as well. Because of this, the government of Tajikistan felt its impunity and things have come to what we have now,” Kadyrov believes.
Human rights organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, have criticized the Tajik government for restricting freedom of speech and pressuring independent journalists. But the authorities ignore such criticism. Although one would think that voicing problems would benefit both the country and, above all, the government.
According to Umed Babakhanov, the founder and head of the Asia-Plus Media Group, the media is a bridge between society and the government.
“Of course, not all information in the media is pleasing to the government and society, but it is always useful. It’s like visiting a doctor who diagnoses you and determines your disease. After the disease is diagnosed, he prescribes treatment. The media reveals societal problems so that the government begins to solve them,” Babakhanov notes.