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Uzbekistan Convicts VOA Journalist of Slander

16 October 2010 04:33 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. An Uzbek journalist who reports for Voice of America has been convicted in Uzbekistan on charges of slander, insult and endangering public security, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.
But the court cleared Abdulmalik Bobaev of an illegal border crossing charge, and he will not face jail time. Instead, Bobaev was ordered to pay a fine of about $10,000. He says he is considering an appeal.
The charges against the journalist specifically cite his work for VOA and could have sent him to jail for up to eight years.
The U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan said it is â€œrelievedâ€ that the court released Bobaev without a prison sentence. But the embassy stressed it remains concerned about the implications of his case for media freedom in Uzbekistan.
Rights groups and media organizations say Uzbekistan is one of the worldâ€™s worst offenders of press freedom.
On Thursday, Human Rights Watch issued a statement urging Uzbekistan to reverse its conviction of another journalist, Russian Vladimir Berezovsky, calling the defamation charges against him â€œbogus.â€
Human Rights Watch said the Russian news website editor plans to appeal the ruling. It says he will not have to face punishment for the conviction, but he will have a criminal record.