Tajik Journalist's Trial a Warning to Others
Prosecuting journalists for reporting on sensitive topics is shooting the messenger.
Tajik Journalist's Trial a Warning to Others
Prosecuting journalists for reporting on sensitive topics is shooting the messenger.
Lola Olimova
IWPR editor in Tajikistan
The trial of a BBC reporter accused of links to a banned Islamic group reflects a widely-held official attitude that the media should serve the interests of the state, and the state should define what those are.
The case of Urunboy Usmonov raises serious concerns about the vulnerability of journalists who report on issues that the authorities regard as off-limits unless coverage adheres to their unwritten rules of what is permissible, especially with regard to sensitive topics like Islamic extremism.
Usmonov, 59, is a correspondent for the BBC Central Asian Service in the northern Soghd region of Tajikistan. Arrested in June, he was originally charged with membership of the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir and with making subversive statements.
Investigators were unable to make these charges stick, and when he went to trial in mid-August it was for “failure to report a crime” – in other words, for not passing on confidential contacts with Hizb ut-Tahrir to the police. But he is still being tried jointly with four alleged members of the group, despite the altered charges.
Usmonov denies the allegations, and the BBC has said it regards the charges as entirely unfounded. He told the court that his meetings and interviews with Hizb ut-Tahrir members conducted purely in his capacity as a journalist.
The case highlights a prevailing attitude among the law-enforcement agencies – some kinds of reporting are acceptable, but others are not, and it is the police who should be the final arbiters on such matters. In particular, the charges against Usmonov sends a clear signal that when the authorities ban a group like Hizb ut-Tahrir, reporting on it is banned as well, and anyone doing so risks being accused of endorsing the organisation.
That is a long way from the concept of media serving the public interest, unless it is the police themselves who define what that is.
Attempting to muzzle the media does not contribute to curbing extremism and violence. It is not, after all, media coverage of the activities of Islamic groups that spreads their ideology and encourages people to join them.
Many would agree with Abdufattoh Vohidov of the Independent Association of Media, who argues that if Usmonov is persecuted just for doing his job, other journalists will be deterred from reporting on sensitive issues and will lapse into self-censorship.
The international attention surrounding Usmonov’s trial may have contributed to the more serious initial charges against him being shelved, although prosecutors insist this was based on an assessment of the evidence to hand.
The case has certainly placed a dilemma before the Tajik authorities, particularly the Soghd regional branch of the State Committee for National Security. Despite the weight of international condemnation, it is hard for them to back down. They did reduce the charges, but an admission that he is innocent would prompt some hard questions about why the prosecution was brought in the first place.
Usmonov’s trial has been adjourned until his lawyer, who is currently abroad, can attend the proceedings. A verdict is expected at the beginning of October.
Lola Olimova is IWPR editor in Tajikistan.
The views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of IWPR.
