DUSHANBE, July 14, 2011, Asia-Plus – In its statement issued on July 13, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urges Tajik prosecutors in Khujand, northern Tajikistan, to drop politicized extremism charges against BBC reporter Urunboy Usmonov, and calls for his immediate release.

The journalist is being charged with failing to report the activities of the Islamist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir to Tajik law enforcement agencies, Usmonov''s lawyer, Fayziniso Vohidova, told Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service.

Authorities arrested Usmonov a month ago.  Investigators have since dropped two initial charges.  They had originally accused Usmonov of being a member of Hizb-ut-Tahrir and of making “public calls to forcibly change the constitutional system of Tajikistan,” according to press reports and CPJ interviews.

On Tuesday July 12, General Prosecutor Sherkhon Salimzoda announced that the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) completed its investigation against Usmonov and sent the case to the regional prosecutor''s office for review, the BBC reported.  Salimzoda also said that he had asked the SCNS to send a summary of the case to President Emomali Rahmon, according to the BBC.

“The Tajik government is now prosecuting Urunboy Usmonov for not being a government informer,” CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney said. "This action essentially criminalizes journalism. We call on the Tajik prosecutor to drop the charges against Usmonov and release him immediately.”

CPJ is a New York–based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.