DUSHANBE, February 25, 2014, Asia-Plus – A press statement released by the U. S. Embassy in Dushanbe on February 25 notes that “the U.S. Embassy believes that today’s judgment against newspaper Asia Plus and its editor Olga Tutubalina will have a chilling effect on freedom of the press in Tajikistan.

“We believe that journalists exercising their rights of free speech and expression deserve the highest degree of protection.  The United States has long supported freedom of speech, mass media freedom, and the right of journalists to work without fear of censorship or reprisal.”