FIDH: Mirsaidov 12yr high-security penal colony

The report states that on 16 July 2018, FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), operating as the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, issued Urgent Appeal TJK 001 / 0718 / OBS 094 concerning Khayrullo Mirsaidov, a Tajik journalist covering human rights, environment and national minorities. The document reports that on 11 July 2018 the Court of Khujand sentenced Mirsaidov to 12 years in a high-security penal colony under Articles 245.4 (embezzlement of public funds), 340.1 (forgery of documents) and 346.2 (dissemination of false information) of the Criminal Code. According to the Observatory, he was summoned to the Sogd Province Prosecution Office on 5 December 2017 and immediately detained; charges were filed on 8 December 2017 following four articles and an open letter in which he described a bribe of approximately 1,000 Euros extorted by the head of the Sogd Province Department of Youth and Sports. The report notes that he was held at the pre-trial detention centre in Khujand with family visits limited to once a month. The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media expressed concern about the sentence on 11 July 2018. The document urges immediate release and references the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.