The state prosecutor demanded 8 years in prison for journalist Abdullo Gurbati, who was detained on June 15 in Dushanbe.
According to the NGO “Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights”, which provided the services of a lawyer for the journalist, on Thursday (September 29), the trial of Gurbati continued in the building of pre-trial detention center №1. He is charged with committing crimes under Article 330, part 1 (“Public insult to a representative of the authorities in the performance of his official duties or in connection with their performance”), Article 328, part 1 (“Violence not dangerous to life or health, or the threat of violence, as well as the threat of destruction of property against a representative of the authorities or his relatives in connection with the performance of his duties”) and Article 307(2), part 2 (“Participation in an extremist community”) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Lawyer Abdurahmon Sharipov said that on September 29, the court questioned one witness in this case.
“After the interrogation of the witness, the lawyer petitioned to call the forensic expert who examined the victim as a specialist in order to eliminate the contradictions set forth in the conclusion and testimony. The court, after hearing the opinions of the parties, rejected this petition,” he said.
The organization reports that along with this, the lawyer petitioned to call an additional witness, but this petition was also rejected by the court.
“In addition, Abdullo Gurbati petitioned for the recovery of the CCTV footage for June 15, 2022 (the day of the incident). The court refused to satisfy the petition with reference to the certificate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Shohmansur district about the absence of video surveillance cameras at the crime scene,” the interlocutor said.
Abdurahmon Sharipov added that during the meeting the court read out the materials of the criminal case, then announced the completion of the judicial investigation and proceeded to the debate of the parties.
“The state prosecutor spoke in the debate of the parties. In his speech, he recognized the qualification of the crime as correct and demanded that the court recognize Gurbati guilty of committing these crimes and prescribe him a total term of 8 years in a high-security colony,” the lawyer emphasized.
Abdullo Gurbati was detained on June 15 on suspicion of using violence against a government official. A month later, on July 19, at a press conference at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it turned out that the journalist was suspected of collaborating with the banned IRPT. At the same time, official representatives of the IRPT denied this accusation, saying that Abdullo Gurbati is in no way connected with them.
Gurbati is a co-author and cameraman of a number of reports by Daleri Imomali, and he was summoned to the police department of Shohmansur district for interrogation in the case of illegal business activities against Daler Imomali.
But after he left the investigator’s office and went to the checkpoint of the police department, he was blocked by a guard policeman. “I had no thoughts and intentions to conflict with the police officers. They let me go. I wanted to get out, but at the checkpoint an officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Shohmansur district blocked my way. Then I was detained and returned to the building of the department. Now they are accusing me of beating a policeman,” the lawyer conveyed to the reporters the words of Abdullo Gurbati.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the authorities of Tajikistan to immediately release Tajik bloggers Daleri Imomali and Abdullo Gurbati.
The website of this international human rights organization posted the material “Tajikistan: Free bloggers, respect freedom of the media!”, which states that “Imomali and Gurbati are persecuted for their professional activities, despite the fact that they are protected by the laws of Tajikistan and international obligations regarding freedom of expression and freedom of the media.”
