The editorial office of Asia-Plus has filed a complaint with the Interior Ministry’s Office for Dushanbe against the deputy principal of Lyceum No. 5, Faizali Sodiqov, for insults and threats directed at their journalists.  The complaint was submitted on October 3.

How did it start?

On September 24, Asia-Plus published a story about a complaint by Dushanbe resident Jamshed Aminov regarding illegal fees at Lyceum No 5, where his child is enrolled.  The prosecutor’s office confirmed the facts presented in the complaint and recommended holding the school's principal accountable for disciplinary measures.

Prior to the publication, on September 20, Asia-Plus’s reporter visited the lyceum to seek a comment from the principal, Bibisofiya Narziyeva.  However, Ms. Narziyeva refused to speak and instructed the security guard not to allow the journalist inside.  The journalist then asked the guard to connect her via phone with the deputy principal, Faizali Sodiqov.  Initially, Sodiqov agreed to speak, but then abruptly hung up the phone.

When the journalist tried to take a photo of the school building, she was met with shouts from Sodiqov from a window: "Don't take pictures! You have no right to photograph, delete the photo, you rude, ignorant people!"

The editorial office waited four days for the principal’s comment before publishing the article.

What happened next?

On September 26, a group of more than 20 parents of students and teachers from the lyceum, including deputy principal Faizali Sodiqov, came to the office of Asia-Plus.  They were invited to the editorial conference room to discuss the purpose of their visit.  The parents’ main grievance was that Jamshed Aminov, the parent who filed the complaint against the school, was a problematic person, and they had issues with him.

The editor of the media group suggested focusing on the complaints related to the published article.  This part of the grievances boiled down to the journalist publishing the material without obtaining a comment from the principal, Bibisofiya Narziyeva. The editor of Asia-Plus pointed out that the principal herself had refused to communicate with the journalist and noted that the editorial office was always ready to hear from Narziyeva and publish her comments.

However, deputy principal Sodiqov did not accept this offer.  In a rude manner, he demanded the article be taken down.  After being refused, he accused the editorial team of corruption, alleging that Asia-Plus had been paid by Aminov for the article’s publication.

Sodiqov then began insulting the journalists and threatening one of the editorial staff: "Be careful in the streets at night!"  He also directed physical threats toward other employees of Asia-Plus.

The editorial office considers Faizali Sodiqov’s actions a serious obstacle to the fulfillment of their professional duties and expressed concern for the safety of their employees.  In their complaint to the Dushanbe police, Asia-Plus urged the authorities to investigate the incident and prevent such occurrences in the future.