DUSHANBE, March 7, Asia-Plus - On February 27, administration of the Dushanbe Vodokanal (DVK – Dushanbe water supply company) filed a suit against Said Abdullo Nuri, leader of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), accusing him of libel.  A court in the district of Shohmansur in Dushanbe is considering this libel action.   

As it had been reported earlier, the DVK director Behruz Safarov stated in late December, 2005 that interview with Nuri published in the Dushanbe weekly “Millat” on December 22, 2005 defamed their enterprise.  According to him, the article veiledly accused the enterprise’s administration of bribery.  Safarov noted that Nuri had produced no proofs to support the accusations.  He said that they would bring libel action against the IRPT leader.   

According to the DVK press service, the court in the Shohmansur district of Dushanbe is currently considering the case’s circumstances.  “The DVK administration demanded that Nuri should at least officially apologize to the DVK enterprise through media,” said the source, “Besides, Ms. Petra Zaidler (phonetically spelled), head of the Dushanbe water supply project, has sent an official letter to the IRPT leader.”  

In the meantime, the court in the Shohmansur district of the Tajik capital confirmed that they had received the suit.  However, they refrained from giving further details of this libel action.  

Mr. Hikmatullo Sayfullozoda, a spokesman for the IRPT, has told Asia-Plus that they have not yet received official notification from the court about the libel action brought against their leader.