(JuHI/IFEX) – As explained by the Osh Media Resource Center on 19 June 2000, the Jalalabad city court, headed by Judge Jusup Suleimanov, sentenced independent journalist Moldosali Ibrahimov, from the village of Suzak, in Jalalabad province, to two years’ imprisonment for “libel”, based on Article 127 (parts 2 and 3) of the Kyrgyz Republic’s Criminal […]
(JuHI/IFEX) – As explained by the Osh Media Resource Center on 19 June 2000, the Jalalabad city court, headed by Judge Jusup Suleimanov, sentenced independent journalist Moldosali Ibrahimov, from the village of Suzak, in Jalalabad province, to two years’ imprisonment for “libel”, based on Article 127 (parts 2 and 3) of the Kyrgyz Republic’s Criminal Code.
Ibrahimov was punished for his article titled “Sudia kilmizh jasadibi?” (“Has the judge committed a crime?”), published in the Jalalabad weekly newspaper “Akikat” on 13 April. “Akikat” is the state owned newspaper, and Ibrahimov is a contributing journalist who does not have a contract of permanent employment with the newspaper.
Ibrahimov’s article described a number of illegalities committed by Judge Toktosun Kasymbekov of the Suzak rayon court in hearings that took place between the first and second round of parliamentary elections in southern Kyrgyzstan (20 February and 12 March). The hearing was initiated by rival candidates from the Suzak rayon voting constituency, Marat Bakiev and Turdubek Chekiev. They filed suits against each other based on allegations of fraud in each other’s election campaigns.
Ibrahimov monitored the court hearings. Having discovered a number of violations committed by the judge, he published the article, in which he alleged that Judge Kasymbekov had accepted a bribe of US$15,000 from Chekiev, and had subsequently ruled in his favour. To support this allegation, the journalist referred to rumours in the community without providing a concrete source. When the material was submitted to the editor of “Akikat,” he asked that the journalist sign a letter taking full responsibility for the data, information and figures cited in the article before it was published. Ibrahimov signed the letter and left it with his editor.
In May, Judge Kasymbekov accused Ibrahimov of libel and filed a complaint, demanding 1,000,000 soms (US$21,276) from the journalist as compensation for the moral damage caused to him by the article. He submitted this complaint to the Jalalabad town prosecutor’s office. The prosecutor filed a lawsuit, and after a one-month investigation, the case was brought to the Jalalabad city court. The sitting judge, Suleimanov, found the journalist guilty and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment. Despite the letter signed by the journalist, which stated that he was solely responsible for the data and information in the article, the court also imposed a 100,000 som (US$2,000) fine on the newspaper “Akikat”, which published the article.
The newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Bakyt Orunbekov, does not agree with the verdict. He believes that the court’s decision violated a number of laws which guarantee press freedom. Firstly, the media law in Kyrgyzstan allows newspapers to publish articles and materials containing different perspectives and opinions. Secondly, according to the editor, two years’ imprisonment for libel is excessive punishment. Instead of a criminal code offence, it would have been more appropriate to apply the civil code to the case, according to Orunbekov.
Lacking funds, the journalist and newspaper did not hire a lawyer to represent them at the trial. Instead, the newspaper chose a journalist to represent them. The journalist in question, who is also a member of the editorial board, was more or less aware of legal procedures and had previously attended a number of court hearings. The judge did not assign a state lawyer to represent the accused in court. When asked to comment on this, the governor’s press secretary, a Mr. Karasartov, noted that the Jalalabad province administration did not expect such a severe verdict, and that no one thought of hiring a lawyer. Moreover, when Orunbekov met with the governor of the province, Kubanichbek Jumaliev, shortly after the verdict was announced, the astonished governor told the editor that the government cannot exert any kind of pressure on the court verdict or on any future decisions of the judiciary regarding this case.
However, Jumaliev assured the editor that the administration will assist “Akikat” by providing letters of support during the appeals process. The Jalalabad administration provides 100,000 soms to support the newspaper annually, which represents twenty percent of the newspaper’s annual budget. The remainder of the newspaper’s budget comes from advertising and subscriptions. On the same day that the court announced its verdict, Ibrahimov was arrested and taken to a preliminary detention institution. Shortly afterwards, some twenty Jalalabad journalists gathered in front of the court building to protest the verdict.
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APPEALS TO:His Excellency Mr. Askar Akayev
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