(Adil Soz/IFEX) – “Varorud” newspaper is a co-defendant in a civil action brought against it by the Association of Judges of the Republic of Tajikistan. The Sughd Regional Court’s Collegium for Civil Cases began hearings into the case against Faiziniso Vohidova, head of the Center for the Support of Legal and Economic Reforms in Sughd […]
(Adil Soz/IFEX) – “Varorud” newspaper is a co-defendant in a civil action brought against it by the Association of Judges of the Republic of Tajikistan. The Sughd Regional Court’s Collegium for Civil Cases began hearings into the case against Faiziniso Vohidova, head of the Center for the Support of Legal and Economic Reforms in Sughd region, and the “Varorud” editorial board, which on 3 November 2004 published Vohidova’s article entitled, “Judges As Guinea Pigs”.
According to independent expert Rano Bobodjonova, the Association of Judges did not try to first resolve the dispute out of court, but rather immediately resorted to filing a lawsuit for “protection of honour and dignity”. According to Article 24 of the law “On Print and Other Media”, the plaintiff should first have demanded that the newspaper’s editorial board publish a retraction, and should only have filed a lawsuit if the board failed to retract the article within a month, on 31 March 2005.
As the plaintiff’s representative failed to appear before the court, the court hearing was delayed until 7 April. The Association of Judges was reportedly more displeased with the title of the article, than with the article itself.
