Good news in the ongoing saga of Mukhtor Boqizoda, one of Central Asia’s most courageous pioneers of democracy, whom I had the honor of interviewing. The editor of the independent newspaper Nerui Sukhan and long a thorn in Rakhmonov’s side, he was sentenced in late August 2005 to two years of labor on the trumped-up charge of stealing electricity. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: (scroll down to the second-from-bottom)

Tajikistan’s Supreme Court has suspended the sentence handed down by a Dushanbe court in August 2005 to Mukhtor Boqizoda, the editor in chief of the opposition newspaper “Nerui Sukhan,” Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 13 February. Boqizoda was convicted of stealing electricity and sentenced to two years of corrective labor, a verdict the Committee to Protect Journalists described as “politically motivated” (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” 26 and 30 August 2005). Boqizoda said that his legal troubles have cost him nearly $30,000 and he plans to sue for compensation. DK

This is a nontrivial accomplishment, as the Tajik government could have easily detained him (however illegally) for as long as it wished - who knows what softened Rakhmonov’s heart? Hopefully Mr. Moqizoda will be able to put all of the shattered pieces of his newspaper back together, and I wish all the best of luck to him. However, if the case of Jumaboy Tolibov, who was detained for over two months after the Supreme Court ordered his release, is any example, Mr. Boqizoda still has a long road ahead. I’ll keep you posted…