Attacks on the Press - Committee to Protect Journalists

attacks on the press in 2009journalists in prison: venezuelaAccording to international rightsgroups, Uzbek authorities refused toprovide access to or release informationthat would allow independent expertsto verify the reasons for Karimov’s involuntaryconfinement. Authoritieshave not disclosed the court order thatled to his forced hospitalization.Karimov contributed to the London-basedInstitute for War and PeaceReporting and a number of independentnewspapers and regional onlinepublications. He often criticized thesocial and economic policies of localand national authorities.Prior to the detention, Jizzakh authoritieshad followed Karimov andclosely monitored his journalism, accordingto local news reports. In August2006, police confiscated his passportwhen he sought an exit visa to attend ajournalism seminar in Kyrgyzstan.Salidzhon Abdurakhmanov, UznewsIMPRISONED: June 7, 2008dio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voiceof America, and the London-basedInstitute for War and Peace Reporting.The journalist and his lawyers saidpolice planted the drugs in retaliationfor his critical reporting. Before his arrest,he had detailed alleged corruptionin the regional traffic police for Uznews.After Abdurakhmanov’s initialblood tests revealed no traces of narcotics,authorities changed the chargeto drug possession with intent todistribute, Uznews reported. Duringthe pretrial investigation, authoritiesquestioned him primarily about hisjournalistic sources and the news outletsto which he contributed, said thejournalist’s brother, Bakhrom, a lawyerwho helped with the defense. GalimaBukharbayeva, editor of Uznews anda 2005 CPJ International Press FreedomAwardee, said police also searchedthe journalist’s house and confiscatedhis personal computer along with literatureon banned Uzbek oppositionleader Muhammad Salikh.A district court in Nukus heardthe case in September 2008. DuringAbdurakhmanov’s trial, his defenselawyer, Rustam Tulyaganov, said, authoritiesfailed to establish a properchain of custody for the seized drugs.No evidence was offered showing thathis fingerprints were on the seizedbag. Tulyaganov said prosecutors presenteda video in court, purporting toshow the seizure of the drugs, but hesaid the video lacked essential context;for example, a police dog said to havebarked at the odor of drugs was notAzócar—host of a political talk showon Táchira-based Televisora delTáchira, correspondent for the naseenat all on the video.On October 10, 2008, Judge KadyrbaiDzhamolov sentenced Abdurakhmanovto 10 years in prison. Accordingto Uznews, the journalist wasserving his term in a penal colony outsidethe southern city of Karshi. Hishealth had deteriorated, but prisonauthorities refused to provide medicaltreatment, his relatives told Uznews.Dilmurod Saiid, freelanceIMPRISONED: February 22, 2009Samarkand regional prosecutors seizedSaiid at his home in the capital, Tashkent,after a local woman purportedlytold prosecutors that she had extortedUS$10,000 from a local businessman onthe journalist’s order, local press reportssaid. She withdrew her statement dayslater and said it had been fabricated.But Saiid remained in custody and,in March, prosecutors announced thatthey had found another witness to saythat he had extorted money—thistime, US$5,000 in a supposed 2004incident, the regional news Web siteFerghana reported. Prosecutors addeda forgery charge based on purportedstatements from local farmers sayingthat he had used their signatures tocreate fraudulent court documents.Before his arrest, the journalist hadreported on government agriculturalabuses for the independent regionalnews Web site Voice of Freedom as wellas a number of local newspapers. Amember of the Tashkent-based humanrights group Ezgulik, Saiid had alsoAuthorities in the western city of Nukusarrested Abdurakhmanov aftertraffic police claimed they found fourounces (114 grams) of marijuana andless than a quarter ounce (about fivegrams) of opium in his trunk, theindependent news Web site Uznewsreported. Authorities initially chargedthe journalist with drug possessionintended for personal use.Abdurakhmanov covered humanrights and economic and social issuesfor Uznews and, in the past, had reportedfor the U.S. government-funded Rahelpedlocal farmers defend their rightsin regional courts, sources told CPJ.Saiid’s lawyer, Ruhiddin Komilov,said the proceedings were riddled withprocedural violations, notably thatofficials failed to notify him of hearingdates in the case. Human RightsWatch reported that most prosecutionwitnesses said their statements againstthe journalist had been falsified.On July 30, the Tailak District Courtin Samarkand convicted Saiid and sentencedhim to 12 and a half years inprison, Ferghana reported. The journalistwas sentenced in a closed proceedingwithout his defense lawyer, family, orthe press in attendance. According toVoice of Freedom, Saiid was transferredto a strict-regime penal colony outsidethe city of Navoi in central Uzbekistan;the prison is known for its large concentrationof political prisoners.In November, Saiid’s wife and6-year-old daughter died in a car accidentwhile on their way to visit himin prison, Ferghana reported. Ezgulikappealed for Saiid’s release on humanitariangrounds.VENEZUELA: 1Gustavo AzócarTelevisora del Táchira, El Universal,and GustavoazocarIMPRISONED: July 29, 2009342343