Osh branch of the Kyrgyz National Security Committee sues Uzbek journalist Shahrukh Saipov accusing him of libel.

Today, on 28 August, the Osh city court will begin reviewing the legal action against independent Uzbek journalist, freelancer of Fergana.ru news agency Shahrukh Saipov, who is accused of libelby the Osh branch of the Kyrgyz National Security Committee (GKNB).

According to the journalist, the claim against him is related to his article published in May 2014 by Fergana.ru, which said that GKNB officers extort US $500 from Osh residents, whose affiliation with terrorist and extremist organizations has not been proven.

In the claim to protect the honor and reputation, the Osh branch of the Kyrgyzstan National Security Committee demands US $20,000 from the journalist as compensation for “moral damages”.

In a recent media interview, Rakhat Sulaymanov,the spokesman for the Kyrgyz National Security Committee, said that they have already invited Shahrukh Saipov to their department and suggested that “If the journalist recognizes that he published false information and asks for forgiveness, the case will be closed.”

Today “Jarayon” will closely monitor the trial against journalist Shahrukh Saipov and inform its readers about new details of the case.

We would remind that Shahrukh Saipov, a 29-year-old freelance journalist from southern Kyrgyzstan, is a younger brother of Alisher Saipov, the editor of the Uzbek-language newspaper “Siyosat’ (Politics),who was killed in 2007 in the center of Osh. The real killer Saipov has not been found yet. His colleagues and independent observers believe that the murder of Alisher Saipov was “ordered” by President Islam Karimov and Kyrgyz special services know the name of the true masterminds and perpetrators of the murder of the brave journalist.

For several years, Alisher Saipov’s younger brother Shahrukh collaborates with such news agencies as Fergana.ru, BBC and others. Prior to that, he published “Digest”and “Student Life” newspapers. In his stories, Shahrukh tries to convey objective information to his readers about human rights violations, particularly human rights of ethnic Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Asad BOIMURODOV