DUSHANBE March 11, 2014, Asia-Plus – Newspaper Asia-Plus and its editor Olga Tutubalina have reportedly lodged a preliminary appeal against the judgment filed by a court in Dushanbe’s Firdavsi district against them.

“We have lodged the preliminary appeal.  After familiarization with sessions’ protocols lawyers will provide the full text the appeal and other materials within a week until March 18,” one of lawyers, Inoyat Inoyatov, said.

We will recall that the Firdavsi district court that considered a case pitting five Tajik creating unions and three separate individuals (D. Abdiyeva, A. Rajabov and H. Rahmatov) against the Asia-Plus newspaper and its editor, Ms. Olga Tutubalina, ruled on February 25 that the newspaper and its editor must publish a disclaimer and pay 30,000 somoni to D. Abdiyeva, A. Rajabov and H. Rahmatov.

Five Tajik creative unions and thee separate individuals have filed a lawsuit against the Asia-Plus newspaper and its editor Olga Tutubalina, asking for 200,000 somoni as compensation for moral damage.

The case stems from the article “Unintelligent about Intelligentsia” by Olga Tutubalina published in the newspaper on May 29, 2013.  In her article about Tajik intelligentsia, Ms. Tutubalina used citation from Lenin’s letter to Maxim Gorky of September 15, 1919, “The intellectual forces of the workers and peasants are growing and getting stronger in their fight to overthrow the bourgeoisie and their accomplices, the educated classes, the lackeys of capital, who consider themselves the brains of the nation.  In fact they are not its brains but its shit.”

Plaintiffs say the article by Olga Tutubalina insulted honor and dignity as well as reputation of a large social group of people and caused moral damage to them.

For her part, Ms. Tutubalina said that she did not mean to insult anyone.  At the same time, she insisted she had nothing to apologize for.

A press statement released by the U. S. Embassy in Dushanbe on February 25 notes that the judgment against newspaper Asia Plus and its editor Olga Tutubalina will have a chilling effect on freedom of the press in Tajikistan.