DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) — An opposition party official says an editor of its newspaper has been brutally beaten by unidentified assailants in the capital of this Central Asian nation. Umarali Khisainov, a deputy head of the Islamic Revival Party, said Hikmatullo Saifullozoda was beaten Monday. He said several men ambushed Saifullozoda near his home and beat him. Saifullozoda, who is the editor of the party's newspaper Nachot and also holds a top position in the party, was hospitalized with injuries. The Islamic Revival Party finished a distant second in last year's parliamentary elections, and has since come under increased official pressure. President Emomali Rakhmon has ruled the ex-Soviet nation of 7 million bordering Afghanistan with an iron hand since defeating the mostly Islamic opposition in the 1992-1997 civil war.
