President of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA), Nadejda Atayeva brought a legal action against Mutabar Tadjibaeva, head of the Fiery Hearts Club, a human rights organisation based in France, to protect her honour, dignity and business reputation.
In recent years, Nadejda Atayeva, as well as other members and applicants of AHRCA, have been subjected to attacks by Mutabar Tadjibaeva. Her internet publications contain libellous, unfounded and absurd accusations about the commitment of serious crimes. They also resort to direct insults, and violate principles of the protection of personal data and information.
Given the systematic and persistent nature of the media campaign, AHRCA has decided to take legal action.
Nadejda Ataeva disputes in court the content of the following articles by M. Tadjibaeva published on the https://mutabar.org/ website, believing that they deserve legal assessment:
AHRCA analysed the above articles. Just a few examples of the slanderous allegations they contain include:
—The claims about the involvement of Nadejda Atayeva and Alim Ataev in embezzlement by a company called the Foundation are false. Neither Nadejda Atayeva nor Alim Ataev ever worked, nor cooperated with this company.
— Tadjibaeva's statement about Nadejda Atayeva's intention to appropriate Gulnara Karimova's money, for which a “Alim Ataev Foundation” was allegedly created, is fictious and slanderous. Nadejda Atayeva and AHRCA members did not pursue such a goal either in writing or during meetings. All our initiatives for the recovery of Gulnara Karimova’s money are aimed at the fair repatriation in the interests of victims of corruption.
— There is irrefutable evidence that Mutabar Tajibayeva misinterprets investigations, documents and statements of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, distorting factual information and content. Her actions created a real threat to the safety of the members and applicants of the organisation.
A detailed analysis will be published at the end of the court proceedings.
Tajibayeva has repeatedly announced publicly that she wanted to get to the truth in court by proving the truthfulness of her articles. The following are quotes from her statements: “The head of the Fiery Hearts Club states that she can prove all the facts in court”; “The assistance provided to Mutabar will help her defend her case and help to cleanse the human rights community and society of Uzbekistan of lies and establish a single standard - the truth!” (https://fr.gofundme.com/CoalitionHelpMutabar). “The trial being held in Paris on 8 June in the case brought by Nadejda Atayeva against Mutabar Tadjibaeva, will put an end to the following:(...) “4. The spread of lies in the world through human rights organisations undermines the trust of ordinary people in liberal ideas and democratic values and a safer world”, “5. Truth always wins!” (https://mutabar.org/ru/2018/06/19363 ) ”.
Mutabar Tajibayeva has denied the grounds for our complaint and, in response, launched an internet media campaign to raise funds from honest, gullible people to pay for her legal expenses, keeping silent about the face that in France lawyers' services provided to persons with a low income are covered by the state. However, she did not notify her donors about this. Following is a link to her statements in this regard: https://mutabar.org/ru/2018/05/18829 и https://fr.gofundme.com/CoalitionHelpMutabar.
Mutabar Tadjibayeva’s claims about her readiness to provide evidence of the allegations she made are also unfounded. This conclusion follows from the results of the hearing of 8 June 2018. Tadjibaeva's lawyer said that he plans to use procedural mechanisms to achieve the dismissal of the claim before the information contained in the articles is examined and to avoid hearing on the merits of the case. We regard Mutabar Tadjibaeva's actions in the proceedings as an attempt to avoid an honest and unbiased examination of veracity of her articles and statements by a French criminal court.
The Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA) states that the accusations put forward by Mutabar Tadjibaeva are slander and aimed at discrediting the President of our organisation, Nadejda Atayeva. We intend to seek liability of M. Tajibayeva under the current legislation of the French Republic.
We are grateful to everyone who supports and maintains their confidence in us.