DUSHANBE, February 4, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- A roundtable meeting formally titled “Legal Protection of Journalists in Tajikistan” is taking place at Tajik Journalists’ Union in Dushanbe on February 5.

Organized by the Office of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in Dushanbe in cooperation with the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan (Nansmit), the meeting is held in the framework of the project, Protection and Human Rights Education through Media in Central Asia, which is implemented by IWPR under financial support of the European Union.

The source at the IWPR Dushanbe Office says the meeting is expected to bring together more than 30 representatives from government institutions, journalist organizations and public associations as well as reporters to discuss various aspect of legal protection of journalists in the country as this issue is becoming more and more topical against the background of increasing number of lawsuits filed against independent media and the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country.

The meeting is expected to result in development of a package of recommendations that could promote further development of freedom of speech in Tajikistan, the source added.