Watchdog

DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan's lower chamber of parliament has passed a draft law decriminalizing libel.

The proposed legislation, proposed in March by President Emomali Rahmon, removes libel and insult from the Criminal Code and places it under the bailiwick of administrative law.

That means journalists accused of libel would face an administrative court rather than criminal prosecution. Administrative courts could issue fines for a libel conviction but not a prison sentence.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) welcomed the decision. The OSCE's representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, expressed hope that all remaining criminal provisions related to defamation would eventually be abolished.

The draft law must be approved by the upper chamber of parliament and signed by the president.

Under the existing legal code, Tajik journalists face the possibility of several years in jail for a libel conviction.

The new draft legislation would not alter a criminal law calling for up to five years in prison for those who libel or insult the president.

BISHKEK -- The owner of the pro-opposition "Maidan.kz" newspaper in Kyrgyzstan has been arrested.

Interior Ministry officials told RFE/RL that Nurgazy Anarkulov was detained in Bishkek on May 30 in connection with a lawsuit filed against him by a local citizen.

No further details about the case were given.

The chief editor of "Maidan.kz," Gulzada Turdalieva, has confirmed that Anarkulov was detained.

She said officials have not yet provided his relatives and colleagues with details about the reasons for his arrest.

According to Turdalieva, the newspaper has recently published several articles critical of President Almazbek Atambaev and other officials. But it was not immediately clear if there was any link between those pieces and Anarkulov's arrest.

Kyrgyzstan is generally considered by human rights groups to have freer media than other autocratic Central Asian countries.