Uzbek journalist sentenced to 12 years in jail

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UZBEKISTAN — On July 30, the Samarkand region's Taylak District Court sentenced independent journalist Dilmurod Saidov to 12-and-a-half years behind bars. Certain the charges against his client were unfounded, his attorney aimed for full acquittal or, failing that, a reduced sentence.

The court found him guilty of “extortion” and "creating and falsifying documents ... as well as selling or using them.” His conviction was announced without his family or attorneys being informed in advance.

Saidov maintains his innocence and claims he is being persecuted for criticising the Uzbek government. His lawyer, Rukhiddin Kamilov, who himself was deprived of his licence to practise law after a recent bar review, says that "this harsh sentence is a very bad sign not only for the accused, but for the few social activists and journalists still left in the country."

The evidence against Saidov consisted mainly of testimony from Marguba Dzhurayeva, who claimed to have been a go-between for farmers in the Samarkand region and Saidov. She testified that he extorted US$6,000 from the farmers to "kill a critical article" he was working on. The accusation did not hold up because Dzhurayeva retracted her testimony, and other witnesses claimed their testimony was coerced by intelligence services.

Reporters without Borders issued a statement expressing outrage at the "harsh and groundless conviction of the journalist" and called on Uzbek authorities to release him immediately. The organisation noted that Saidov was the seventh journalist in Uzbekistan jailed for his reporting. Further complicating matters, Saidov has a severe form of tuberculosis and his incarceration may have a disastrous effect on his health.

In 2007 and 2008, Saidov was a member of a human rights team formed to respond to allegations of torture in Uzbekistan, and did some reporting for the human rights defence site Voice of Freedom.

Only 11 of 173 countries ranked lower than Uzbekistan with respect to freedom of expression in the report issued by Reporters without Borders last October on freedom of the press.

[VoF.kg, UzNews.net, Ferghana.ru, Pravozashitnik.at.ua, CA-News.org]