Majlis Podcast: Pressure On The Press In Tajikistan Grows, As Crucial Ruling Looms

RFE/RL's Tajik Service, known locally as Ozodi, is one of the last independent sources of news inside the country.

Nine journalists from RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, known locally as Ozodi, appear to be just days away from losing their accreditation to report legally in the country.

Tajik authorities have not indicated that they intend to renew the accreditations by November 1 when they expire -- or restore the accreditation of five other Ozodi reporters who have already lost theirs.

The current dilemma facing Ozodi, one of the last independent sources of news inside Tajikistan, is the latest example of the slide in respect for human rights and media and political freedoms exhibited by the Tajik authorities.

On this week's Majlis podcast, RFE/RL's media-relations manager, Muhammad Tahir, moderates a discussion about Ozodi and the challenges the service is facing in Tajikistan.

The guests on this week's show include the acting director of Ozodi, Salimjon Aioubov; Elena Cherniavska, senior adviser at the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media; and longtime Majlis friend Steve Swerdlow, Central Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch.

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Majlis Podcast: Pressure On The Press In Tajikistan Grows, As Crucial Ruling Looms

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