Mongolian appeals court upholds sentence against critical journalist   

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia — 

A Mongolian appeals tribunal connected Thursday upheld a verdict successful the lawsuit against writer Unurtsetseg Naran.

Unurtsetseg, editor-in-chief of the quality tract Zarig, was sentenced successful July to 4 years and 9 months successful situation during a closed-door trial. She was initially arrested implicit a Facebook station successful which she said it was inhumane to prolong the tribunal proceeding of an aged individual, according to reports.

Authorities convicted her of spreading mendacious information, taxation evasion, wealth laundering, revealing idiosyncratic secrets and amerciable acquisition of authorities secrets. She denies immoderate wrongdoing.

The writer was seen being ushered into the closed-door proceeding successful Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, connected Thursday morning. Before her arrival, constabulary secured an country wherever a tiny assemblage had gathered to amusement enactment for the journalist.

Lawyers for Unurtsetseg aboriginal spoke with reporters extracurricular the court. They said the ineligible process mightiness person affected her rights.

The hearings were held successful concealed due to the fact that of an alleged transportation to authorities secrets. Bulgamaa Rinzaan, who is representing Unurtsetseg, said that due to the fact that the hearings were closed, defence attorneys had restricted entree to lawsuit files and evidence, which severely constricted their quality to support their lawsuit effectively.

Another lawyer progressive successful the case, Erkhembayar Purevdorj, said that not each parts of the lawsuit were related to authorities secrets, and truthful immoderate parts of the lawsuit could person been held separately to let for greater transparency.

Unurtsetseg is good known successful Mongolia for her captious coverage. In 1 of her best-known investigations, the writer questioned companies that had defaulted connected loans to the Development Bank of Mongolia. She besides uncovered intersexual maltreatment successful a Buddhist boarding schoolhouse and exposed unit successful the military.

She has faced erstwhile ineligible threats related to her work, including 12 defamation complaints successful 2019 and 4 successful 2020, each filed by politicians mentioned successful her reporting, according to the International Federation of Journalists.

Three section media advocacy groups, including the Media Council of Mongolia, the Confederation of Mongolian Journalists and the Globe International Center, issued a associated connection successful her support. The connection said that holding the proceedings down closed doors denied the media the close to pass the public.

Media lawyer Galbaatar Lkhagvasuren told VOA that a fewer of the transgression laws utilized to complaint Unurtsetseg interruption property state and are counterintuitive successful that they punish journalists for informing the nationalist and spell against law rights of property freedom.

Unurtsetseg has already spent 111 days successful prison. The appeals tribunal ruled that her condemnation would see clip already spent successful custody.

The writer has the close to instrumentality her entreaty to the Supreme Court.

This nonfiction originated successful VOA’s Mandarin Service.