DUSHANBE, May 21, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Organized by the Independent School of Journalism “Tajikistan – 21st Century,” the seminar for journalists, entitled “Human Rights and Criminal Justice,” was held on May 15-19.

The seminar participants included 20 journalists of print and electronic media from Dushanbe and other parts of the country.  They, in particular, discussed subjects such as the right to a fair trial, national and international mechanisms of protection of human rights, freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, administering justice in minor cases, use of international standards of journalism in coverage of the criminal justice issues, etc.

The Nota Bene public association chairwoman Nigina Bahriyeva and the Independent Human rights Protection Center head Sergey Romanov conducted the seminar.  The seminar participants also had an opportunity to hear opinions of leading specialists in criminal law and media as well as representatives from the Shuroi Adliya (Council of Justice), Prosecutor-General’s Office and the Constitutional Court of Tajikistan, human rights activists, lawyers, etc.

The seminar was held in the framework of the project, Coverage of the Criminal Justice Issues and Raising Legal Awareness of Population through Media, which is implemented under support of the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in Tajikistan, U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe.

The main objective of the project is in drawing attention of the public to the issues of human rights and criminal justice in Tajikistan, creating a platform for public discussion of these issues and raising legal awareness of the population through media.