Tajikistan must immediately release journalist and stand-up comedian Khairullo Mirsaidov

Khairullo (Khayrullo) Mirsaidov, who is an independent journalist and the leader of the Tajikistani national KVN comedy team , has been held in SIZO 1, a pre-trial detention facility in Khudzhand, the main city of Soghd region in northern Tajikistan, since 5 December 2017 on charges that include embezzlement, forgery, providing false testimony and inciting national racial, regional or religious enmity. Amnesty International believes that Khairullo Mirsaidov is a prisoner of conscience who is being punished solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression. Khairullo Mirsaidov should be immediately and unconditionally released.