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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DUSHANBE 000156 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/4/2020 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO KDEM SCUL TI
SUBJECT: MEDIA CRACKDOWN: OFFICIALS SUE NEWSPAPERS FOR MILLIONS 
 
REF: DUSHANBE 67 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Necia Quast, Charge d' Affaires, EXEC, DoS. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Tajik judges, a Ministry, and a government 
agency hit five of Tajikistan's independent newspapers with 
separate lawsuits in what could be the death knell of media 
freedom in the country.  On January 25, three judges sued three 
newspapers for publishing a defense attorney's statement that 
high-ranking officials pressured them to convict his clients. 
The judges' lawsuits demanded total compensation of $1.2 
million, which they pledged to donate to the Roghun 
hydro-electric power station.  On January 26, a Dushanbe court 
upheld a ruling that a newspaper was liable for $68,000 for 
publishing an open letter from Tajik businessmen that criticized 
the work of the country's product certification agency, 
Tajikstandart.  On January 28, the Ministry of Agriculture sued 
a fifth newspaper for $229,000 after it published an article 
accusing the Ministry of corruption, based on a government 
report.  The Embassy will coordinate with the OSCE to express 
concern to the Tajik government about the rapidly deteriorating 
environment for freedom of the press.  END SUMMARY 
 
 
 
ASIA PLUS, FARAZH, AND OZODAGON REPORT ON ISFARA CASE, GET SUED 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Three judges filed joint-lawsuits against weekly 
independent newspapers Asia Plus, Farazh, and Ozodagon and 
demanded $1.2 million in damages for publishing an article in 
which defense attorney Solidjon Jurayev accused the judges of 
abuse of power.  Jurayev defended a group of 31 residents of 
Isfara District who were sentenced to 10 to 25 years' 
imprisonment as part of the "Isfara affair", which featured mass 
arrests, seizure of property, and pressure on the judiciary from 
high-level officials.  The $1.2 million demand would bankrupt 
the newspapers if awarded. 
 
 
 
¶3. (C) The "Isfara Affair" began when security officials in 
Isfara District arrested 31 associates and family members of a 
wealthy Isfaran businessman, Nizom Jurayev (no relation to the 
lawyer), in late 2007.  Nizom controlled multiple business in 
Isfara, including several distilleries.  His holdings reportedly 
attracted the attention of President Rahmon's family, including 
daughter Tahmina and brother-in-law Hassan Asadullozoda.  After 
Nizom refused to cut the President's family in on his 
businesses, local prosecutors raided his offices and charged the 
"Isafara 31" with theft, embezzlement, membership in an 
organized crime ring, and other charges.  Nizom Jurayev fled the 
country.  On June 9, 2009, Judge Nur Nurov issued 10 to 25 year 
sentences to the defendants.  On January 14, 2010, during a 
closed court hearing to appeal the verdict, attorney Solidjon 
Jurayev revealed an audio recording of a conversation he had 
with Judge Nurov, in which Nurov admitted he issued the lengthy 
sentences under pressure from high level officials.  Jurayev 
alleged that the Chair of the Supreme Court, Nursatullo 
Abdullayev, summoned Nurov from Isfara to Dushanbe, where he 
ordered him to issue the long sentences.  After the January 14 
appeal hearing, Jurayev held a press conference and repeated his 
statement from the closed court session. 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Asia Plus, Farazh, and Ozodagon published Solidjon 
Jurayev's comments on January 21, including his accusations 
naming other judges who issued sentences based on orders from 
higher level officials.  Asia Plus provided Judge Nurov an 
opportunity to respond to the accusations.  Nurov confirmed that 
his voice was on the recording, but claimed the conversation was 
taken out of context.  On January 28, Asia Plus published a 
follow-up article on the Isfara affair with the headline, "The 
sentence was a crime," in which the prosecutor in the 2009 
Isfara case said he had never asked for such lengthy terms.  The 
prosecutor concurred with Jurayev that high-level officials 
ordered Nurov to issue the stiff sentences. 
 
 
 
JUDGES REQUEST DAMAGES, NEWSPAPERS FEAR SHUTDOWN 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) On January 29, the three judges, including Nurov, 
announced their lawsuits (filed on January 25) claiming moral 
damages from the newspapers' for their publication of the 
Jurayev article.  The judges requested that the government close 
the newspapers during the course of the trial and pledged to 
donate their $1.2 million in damages, if awarded, to 
 
DUSHANBE 00000156  002 OF 003 
 
 
construction of the Roghun hydro-electric power station 
(reftel).  The editors of the three newspapers were visibly 
rattled in a meeting with Emboff on February 2.  Asia Plus 
editor Marat Mamadshoev said he was shocked at the government's 
reaction to his publication of the Jurayev article.  "Jurayev 
said the same thing in court, so this should have been public 
domain anyway.  If we can't publish something that is said in 
court, what can we publish?"  Ozadagon editor Zafari Sugi said 
he had been warned informally not to cover the Isfara case, but 
thought he could cover information presented in court without 
risking reprisal. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) All three editors viewed the lawsuit as part of a 
broader effort by the government to curtail media freedom. 
Mamadshoev noted, "Now, when I publish any article, will I put 
myself at risk?  Will I put my staff at risk?  Is it worth it? 
Now, at the very least, we are going to practice more 
self-censorship to protect ourselves."  Mamadshoev felt the 
government was trying to prevent the newspapers from publishing 
even more damaging information about the Isfara affair, claiming 
that President Rahmon himself gave the order for the lengthy 
sentences.  "There were more names in Jurayev's tape... names we 
didn't publish." 
 
 
 
¶7. (C) On February 2, the newspaper editors appeared in court 
and met with the three judges who had filed the suits.  The 
judges indicated they might drop their action if the newspapers 
agreed to cease criticism of the judicial system, according to 
Farazh owner/editor Khurshed Atovulloev.  The editors responded 
that they might agree to cease coverage of the Isfara affair, 
but could not promise to end coverage of the judicial system as 
a whole.  The judges could withdraw their lawsuit if they reach 
an out-of-court settlement with the newspapers before the next 
court date on February 23.  (NOTE: Asia Plus and Farazh have 
received multiple Embassy grants and participated in numerous 
Embassy training programs.  The manager of Asia Plus is an 
International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumnus.  In 
2009, Asia Plus hosted an Embassy-funded media trainer to help 
them improve management.  Farazh is implementing a 2010 
Democracy Commission grant to cover the 2010 elections.  END 
NOTE) 
 
 
 
VERDICT AGAINST PAYKON FOR SLANDERING LISCENSING AGENCY 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) On January 26, a Dushanbe court upheld an October 26, 
2009, verdict that independent weekly newspaper Paykon was 
liable for $68,000 in damages for slandering the state product 
certification agency, Tajikstandart.  For years, Paykon had 
published open letters to the government without incurring legal 
action.  In summer 2009, Paykon published an open letter to the 
President from Tajik businessmen criticizing corruption at 
Tajikstandart.  Some of the businessmen used pseudonyms. 
Tajikstandart filed suit, accusing Paykon of "defamation of 
honor" and slander.  Paykon's editor published a retraction and 
an apology, but Tojikstandard did not drop the law suit.  After 
Paykon lost the case, it appealed on the grounds that only 
individuals, not organizations, could be "defamed" under Tajik 
law.  In the latest court decision, the judge concurred with 
Paykon that Tojikstandard could not sue for "defamation of 
honor," but it upheld the slander charge as well as the $68,000 
fine.  Paykon may now appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court 
where it could face the same judges who filed suit against Asia 
Plus, Farazh, and Ozodagon. 
 
 
 
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE SUES MILLAT FOR CALLING IT CORRUPT 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) On January 28, the Ministry of Agriculture announced 
that it filed suit against weekly independent newspaper Millat 
for publishing a December 10 article calling the Ministry of 
Agriculture the "most corrupt organization in the government." 
The Ministry demanded damages of $229,000, despite the fact that 
the newspaper published the Ministry's response to the article. 
Millat's source for its article was a government report 
presented in parliament during a budgetary session that cited 
irregularities in the Ministry's financing.  Head of the 
National Association of Independent Media Outlets (NANSMIT) 
Nuriddin Karshiboev said government ministries are trying to 
 
DUSHANBE 00000156  003 OF 003 
 
 
protect themselves from public scrutiny and view criticism of 
their activities as an attack on their power. 
 
 
 
MEDIA NGOS, ISLAMIC RENNAISANCE PARTY SPEAK OUT AGAINST LAWSUITS 
 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) Islamic Renewal Party head Muhiddin Kabiri denounced 
the string of lawsuits in an interview with Asia Plus. 
"Evidently, authorities decided to organize a single front 
because they do not want their shortcomings to be disclosed in 
public, or the public to know what is happening in state 
structures."   According to NANSMIT head Karshiboev the lawsuits 
against the five newspapers "will have a very negative impact on 
freedom of the press and lead to more self-censorship." 
Government officials felt they could not be criticized "because 
they have no concept that they are 'public figures' who can be 
[legitimately] criticized by the media."  NAMSIT, the Committee 
to Protect Journalists, and Reporters without Borders released 
statements expressing concern about the pattern of lawsuits and 
deteriorating environment for media freedom.  On February 5, 
NANSMIT will host a public forum to discuss the lawsuits. 
 
 
 
GOVERNMENT THINK TANK STOOGE: THE MEDIA SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER 
 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) On February 2, Asia Plus printed a government think 
tank representative's comments that "Tajik journalists haven't 
learned the laws of the Republic."  Saifullo Safarov, assistant 
director of the President's Center for Strategic Studies, noted 
that the "Court already punished one newspaper (Paykon), and 
that should serve a big lesson for journalists.  When citizens 
know what is coming to them when they commit slander, they won't 
present false information."  Journalists did not have a right to 
criticize the courts, because they were not experts.  "All 
judicial mistakes should be reviewed by the General Prosecutor 
and first-class jurists."  He warned that journalists shouldn't 
stray into forbidden territory.  "Journalists exist between fire 
and water and need to always work to find the golden middle.  If 
they do that, they won't be sued or indicted for printing false 
information." 
 
 
¶12. (SBU) COMMENT: Tajikistan once boasted arguably the most 
vibrant media environment in Central Asia.  Over the last year, 
the government has subjected journalists, newspapers, and 
independent television stations to increasing pressure, leading 
journalists to increase self-censorship to avoid problems.  Now, 
most of the remaining independent newspapers in the country face 
bankruptcy if the suits filed against them are upheld.  Based on 
the Paykon precedent, the legal prospects for independent 
newspapers are not good.  The increasingly brazen lawsuits-- 
prosecuting newspapers for simply publishing public information 
--will further reduce the space for public debate ahead of the 
February 28 elections.  Beyond the elections, the lawsuits are 
part of a broader effort by the government to consolidate power 
over the press so that it can use media outlets as tools for its 
propaganda efforts like the Roghun campaign.  The Embassy is 
working with OSCE Media donor representatives to determine the 
most effective response to this trend.  END COMMENT 
QUAST