Dushanbe (TajikTA) — The diplomatic missions of Great Britain, Germany, France and the United States, as well as the European Union in Dushanbe, expressed their general serious concern on the trial of an independent Tajik journalist Khairullo Mirsaidov who is sentenced to 12 years of prison, calling the verdict “extremely severe punishment”.

Khayrullo Mirsaidov

The court of Khujand City sentenced a journalist, head of the KVN team of Tajikistan Khairullo Mirsaidov to 12 years of imprisonment with serving his sentence in a penal colony of the regime. Dilafruz Samadova, lawyer H. Mirsaidov, claims that the court of Mirsaidov’s fault was not proved for any of the charges brought against him. The defence of Mirsaidov considers the verdict “too cruel punishment”, and intends to appeal the verdict to a higher authority.

The statement issued on this occasion by diplomatic missions says:

We learned that the court sentenced Mr. Mirsaidov to 12 years in prison. We believe that this is an extremely severe punishment, incommensurable with the gravity of the crime in which he was accused. The passing of such a sentence will have a negative impact on the freedom of speech and expression in the country.

We urge the relevant authorities in the Republic of Tajikistan to reconsider this verdict. We are concerned that this verdict could jeopardize our joint efforts in the work to improve public administration, and thereby overshadow our cooperation.

This incident has already caused general concern at the international level. We believe that full respect for the rule of law, including a fair trial, is in the interests of Tajikistan itself and is necessary to ensure international support for the implementation of political goals and development plans.

Mirsaidov himself believes that the main reason for the persecution was his criticism of the authorities for not paying enough attention to the activities of the KVN team of Tajikistan.