On the evening of October 17, journalist and blogger Daler Imomali was sentenced in a closed trial to 10 years in prison.
He was found guilty on all three charges: providing deliberately false information about a crime, illegal business, participation in the activities of banned organizations. At the same time, the defendant pleaded guilty only to illegal business when he didn’t pay ad taxes on his YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, in Tajikistan, the trials of journalists who were detained this summer are continuing. All of them are also transient, behind closed doors in a pre-trial detention center and without the participation of the defendants’ relatives. Their relatives report that they confessed under duress and torture.
On October 13, the trial of Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda, who was accused of participating in the activities of extremist organizations, began in the pre-trial detention center. The other day, his relatives reported that Abdusattor confessed under severe torture.
A few days earlier, on October 11, the trial of journalist Zavkibek Saidamini, who was accused of collaborating with the banned Islamic Renaissance Party and Group 24, began in a pre-trial detention center and also without the participation of his relatives.
On October 4, a court of Dushanbe sentenced journalist and blogger Abdullo Gurbati to 7.5 years in prison, finding him guilty of publicly insulting a government official, using violence against a police officer, and participating in an extremist community.
Since the summer of this year, in Tajikistan, following the May events in GBAO and the suppression of peaceful protests in the region, seven bloggers and journalists have been arrested. All of them, among other things, are charged with participation in the activities of extremist organizations.
