Urinboy Usmonov, a 10 year long journalist for BBC‘s Central Asian Service, was arrested on June 13th and is being held in Khujand, northern Tajikistan for suspicion membership in the Islamic Movement Hizb ut-Tahrir. His lawyer, Fayziniso Vokhidova, said he was denied his right to see her. After having had gone missing on June 13th, Usmonov briefly returned home – visually beaten-up – with Tajik police who searched his house and then took him away.

Hamid Ismailov, Uzbek novelist and poet and BBC’s World Service Writer in Residents, spoke with Oybek, Usmonov’s son, about his father’s situation and learned that when “leaving his home he whispered to his family: “It’s because of my work. I can’t take another night like the last one. I can’t survive.””

According to Reporters Without Borders, 150 Hizb ut-Tahrir activists were arrested in 2010. The group is controversial for its mission and links to people such as Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Founded in 1953 in Jerusalem by Taqiuddi al-Nabhani, Hizb ut-Tahrir (“Party of Liberation” – حِزْبُ التَحْرِير) is an Islamist organization banned in Tajikistan and throughout Central Asia (but not in the United Kingdom and some other European countries):

“Hizb ut-Tahrir is a political party whose ideology is Islam. Its objective is to resume the Islamic way of life by establishing an Islamic State that executes the systems of Islam and carries its call to the world. Hizb ut-Tahrir has prepared a party culture that includes a host of Islamic rules about life’s matters.”

Some reports say journalist Usmonov is a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir – while other say the opposite.

The Associated Press reports that according to police, Tajik citizen Usmonov “joined the banned group in 2009 to carry out “propaganda and promoting this movement in social networks.”” Similarly – Makhmadullo Asadduloev, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said in an interview with Radio Ozodi (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tajik service):

“In 2009, he has voluntarily entered the ranks of “Hizb ut-Tahrir” and engaged in online advocacy of ideas this extremist party in the area, distributed leaflets and books are extremist, calling on area residents to join the “Hizb-ut- Tahrir.””

However, according to Robert Mahone, Committee to Protect Journalist Deputy Director: “These charges against Urinboy Usmonov are nothing but an attempt to censor coverage of sensitive political and religious issues.” And it seems the BBC agrees, as on June 16th, the news network denied allegations and demanded Usmonov’s immediate release:

“Whilst Mr Usmonov has reported on the judicial trials and activities of the Hizbi Tahrir party in Tajikistan at the request of the BBC, the BBC has no reason to believe these allegations. The BBC deplores the alleged treatment of Mr Usmonov whilst detained, in particular the denial of access to a legal representative.”

Not only human rights defenders and the media, Fergana News reports that this globally spread story is catching the eyes of everyone, including political organizations such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan and the UK .

OSCE’s Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, expresses her concerns in a letter to Tajikistan’s Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarif:

“While I respect the Government’s legitimate right to fight terrorism, the circumstances surrounding Usmonov’s detention and treatment, including the denial of his right to legal counsel, raises concerns about undue limitations on free expression. I am concerned that his case may be another attempt to silence a journalist who writes on sensitive topics in Tajikistan.”

In protest of Usmonov’s arrest, undersigned journalists and members of the public, have created a petition for the immediate release of this BBC journalist, calling “upon the authorities of Tajikistan to grant his immediate and unconditional release from custody.” Some of the letter reads:

“…He is not and has never been a member of this organization [Hizb ut-Tahrir] or had any affiliation with it.”

“…Usmonov has diabetes and suffers from a heart condition, and apart from calling for his immediate release, we call upon the Tajik authorities to allow him access to medical care as an urgent matter.”

“…We demand an end to this inhumane treatment towards Usmonov, and further demand an investigation into the misconduct of the officers responsible, with punishment for those implicated in these apparent beatings.”

“We consider the detention of Urinboy Usmonov to be a very serious attack against the free press in Tajikistan…”

Photo courtesy (c) BBC.