Country / Topic: Mongolia
Date: 09 March 2006
Source: Globe International NGO
Person: G. Dashrentsen
Type of violation: Accused in a criminal case

(Globe International/IFEX) – Mr. G. Dashrentsen, political commentator for the national newspaper Udriin Sonin (Daily News) has been under investigation, acused of libel, by the Mongoloian Police Enquiry Department since 28 January 2006 following a complaint made by Buddhist lama Purevbat.

Lama Purevbat complained that he had been shamed by being called a “yaschin” in an article headed “N. Enkhbayar’s Black Spot Moves Ahead in Mongolia,” written by Mr. Dashrentsen and printed in the weekly Deedsiin Hureelen at the end of October last year.

According to Dashrentsen, he did not criticise Lama Purevbat, but only current Mongolian President N. Enkhbayar for giving an award to a lama who destroyed the bones of hundreds of lamas, evidence of mass killings during the repression period of the 1930s.

In May 2003, at Hambiin Ovoo, near Ulaanbaatar, the bones of over 600 lamas were uncovered and, initiated by Lama Purevbat, a memorial stupa was to be built, destroying these bones.
On March 13, 2006, the Linguistic Institute of the Mongolian Academy of Science issued a translation of the word “yaschin,” based on a Mongolian academic dictionary by noted writer O. Tsevel, after a request from the Police Enquiry Department.

The meaning of the word was in dispute between the journalist and the lma. “Yaschin” relates to the idiom “yas barikh,” which means to bury a body. However, the noun “yaschin“ has two parts. A “yas” means a bone, and is a noun, also the root of the word. The suffix “chin” suffix is an addition to the root noun (root), becoming a noun. This word is not widely used in the written language.

On 16 November, Lama Purevbat applied to the Bayanzurkh District Court of Ulaanbaatar City with his complaint, but journalist Dashrentsen refused to attend the court, saying that he had reason to distrust the judges.

Journalist Dashrentsen had previously been charged with libel of senior custom official Mr. Sh. Adishaajav, and on September 28, 2005, by the Bayanzurkh District Court of Ulaanbaatar City, he was ordered to pay Tg300,000 (approximately US$260) to Sh. Adishaajav and was required to publish a correction in the newspaper.

Later, Sh. Adishaajav, whose name had therefore been cleared by the Bayanzurkh district court, was arrested after subsequent investigations by the State Investigation Department, and accused of corruption. The State Investigation Department is continuing to investigate corruption in the custom department.

Globe International NGO is deeply concerned about the investigation of Dashrentsen and asked for a meeting with police captain D. Azjargal, investigating the case, and Mrs. Otgonchimeg, procurator in the Ulaanbaatar procurator’s office, who is now in charge of this journalist-related libel and defamation case. They both refused to give any information on the investigation.
The Globe International NGO urges that journalists should not be accused under the criminal code for what they publish and strongly demands legal officials respect the rights of free expression and press freedom.