Tajikistan releases comedian and journalist jailed for 12 years

Tajikistan released an independent journalist and comedian today in an unexpected move after his imprisonment last month prompted widespread criticism from international rights groups.

Khayrullo Mirsaidov, 40, in July received a 12-year jail term on charges including embezzlement and providing false testimony, which he denied.

Today, a higher court in the impoverished ex-Soviet nation freed him on appeal after reducing his sentence to a fine, his lawyer Bakhtiyer Nasrulloyev told Tajik media.

Mirsaidov was ordered to pay a fine of around 80,000 Tajik somoni ( USD 8,500 or 7,300 euros), the lawyer said.

Today's court hearing was closed to journalists.

Amnesty International hailed the verdict as a "rare victory for freedom of expression", while adding that Mirsaidov should never have been charged in the first place.

Until his arrest, Mirsaidov headed a troupe of Tajik comedians who competed in televised contests run by Russia called KVN or Club of the Funny and Inventive.

The charges concerned funding he received from the Tajik government.

He is also an independent journalist who has written critically of authorities for local and international media.

Rights groups including Human Rights Watch and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee raised concerns after his sentence that he was being punished for challenging local authorities over corruption related to the distribution of funds for the troupe.

He spent nine months in prison while awaiting trial and his family had to pay USD 13,000 to compensate the state for the allegedly embezzled money.