Journalists in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan await sentences

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High profile trials against journalists continued in July in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The presentation of the case in the trial of journalist Dilmurod Saiid, accused of extortion and taking bribes, ended in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand region on July 21. The case against him was not closed even when testimony used to build the case was retracted. The prosecutor was seeking a prison term of 14 and half years for Saiid.

“Based on precedent, the sentences handed to journalists are fairly harsh – at least 10 years. But considering there is a thaw in Uzbekistan, the punishment for Saiid could be parole,” according to his lawyer, Rukhitdin Kamilov.

The case of another journalist is currently being appealed in Uzbekistan. Reporter for UzNews.net Salidzhon Abdurakhmanov was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison on charges of drug trafficking. He was left without his defence team last June when his lawyers did not pass a re-evaluation and lost their licences to practice law. Abdurakhmanov’s brother, who was acting as a second lawyer, claimed the State Evaluation Committee was biased against lawyers who take human rights cases.

Kazakh journalist Ramazan Yesergepov, editor-in-chief of Almaty Info, is accused of revealing state secrets and the prosecutor is seeking a six-year prison term for him. The lawsuit was brought against the journalist following an article titled “Who is Running Our Country: The President or NSC?” that contained the text of a classified letter from the department head of the National Security Committee in Zhambyl region to the NSC chairman. The trial is being held behind closed doors, with public defenders, relatives, and reporters not allowed to attend.

International human rights organisations have repeatedly criticised Kazakh and Uzbek officials for persecution of journalists, disregard for freedom of expression and laws that undermine the independence of mass media.

[UzNews.net, Azattyq.org, Ferghana.ru]