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The Tajik media continued to be haunted in 2003 by the devastating legacy of the 1992-1997 civil war, which pitted the People’s Front, a paramilitary organization led by the current president, Imomali Rakhmonov, against a coalition of Islamic and nationalist groups. Because of widespread poverty–a result of the war, geographic isolation, and a string of…
New York, July 29, 2003—Tajikistan’s Supreme Court today convicted two suspects in the murders of Muhiddin Olimpur, head of the BBC’s Persian Service bureau, and Viktor Nikulin, a correspondent with the Russian television network ORT, both of whom were killed during the country’s civil war in the mid-1990s. Narzibek Davlatov and Akhtam Toirov were sentenced…
Dushanbe, July 24, 2003—A delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the government of Tajikistan to combat the culture of fear and self-censorship lingering from its bloody 1992-1997 civil war by investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the murders of dozens of journalists during that period. The delegation also called on the…
Your Excellency: Joel Simon and I enjoyed the opportunity to meet with you and Ambassador Rashid Alimov on April 19 to discuss press freedom conditions in Tajikistan. We very much appreciate Your Excellency’s commitment to review a letter from us outlining our concerns and a number of press freedom cases we have documented. Unfortunately, government harassment, intimidation, and censorship regularly stifle press freedom in Tajikistan. The political factionalism that erupted during the 1992-1993 civil war, as well as the murders of many journalists killed during the conflict, has lead to widespread self-censorship.