Independent Tajik Newspaper Suspends Operations

An edition of Tajikistan's Nigoh newspaper

The owners of the independent Tajik newspaper Nigoh (View) have suspended operations ahead of the outlet's 10th anniversary.

Nigoh's owner, the Indem think tank, said in a statement that it would halt printing the newspaper due to a "lack of appropriate conditions."

The statement, released earlier this week, gave no further details, adding "we can make no further comment."

Nigoh had no debts or tax arrears, EurasiaNet.org reported, and its owners have pledged to continue paying its employees until 2017.

EurasiaNet.org reported that Nigoh was forced to close by Tajik officials unhappy with the paper's reporting about the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT).

Nigoh had also previously written critical articles about the prosecution of lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov, who was given a 23-year prison term last month for allegedly inciting social unrest and calling for the overthrow of the government.

Yorov had represented IPRT members in court and his case is seen by rights groups as being politically motivated.

Tajik officials have shut down dozens of nonstate and opposition media outlets under the authoritarian rule of President Emomali Rahmon, who has been in power for almost a quarter century.

Based on reporting by EurasiaNet.org