Public reaction to the “raids”

Almost every day, videos of young people being detained on the streets of Tajikistan are posted on social media. Users claim that this is a “raid,” while the authorities assert that there is no “raid.”

Photo: Internet

A user with the nickname Fardoi Tojikiston published a video on Facebook showing the detention of a young man who resembles a student. The footage shows three unknown individuals forcibly putting him into a taxi while the young man loudly screamed and cried. The video has garnered several thousand views and over 300 comments.

A woman named Nargis Rahmatshoeva writes that she knows the detained individual, whose name is Shohrukh; he is her student and works at TV “Dushanbe.” She writes that after the detention, Shohrukh was taken to the military enlistment office in the Shohmansur district of Dushanbe.

Some users write that if this continues, in the future, they may carry out abductions right on the street in broad daylight, but people will not pay attention and will not help, thinking it is yet another “raid.”

Zulfia Saidova writes: “No, the main thing is that no one cares, in broad daylight, everyone watches together, the main thing is that no one intervenes or is interested in what is happening; maybe a person has been kidnapped. This is just shameful. How can this happen?”

User Umedjon Davlatov writes: “No one asks who you are, where you are taking this person? Maybe there is no ‘raid,’ and they are taking this person somewhere to kill him. Why does everyone silently walk by?”

Some users comment that they support the authorities’ actions and accuse the youth of cowardice and disloyalty to the Motherland. “They are young and should not be afraid to serve in the army; they should go and serve faithfully.”

In response, many users criticized these actions of the authorities and demanded that the government address this issue. One user writes: “It is shameful when the authorities recruit conscripts into the army in this way. Is this a barn to drag people by force? The government should strive to implement a proper program to motivate young people to serve in the army. If conscripts are recruited in this way, most young people will not serve faithfully. These actions of the authorities only increase the level of corruption.”

Civil society and individuals have been criticizing the authorities for several years, yet “raids” continue. The abduction of students from universities, streets, and markets occurs in broad daylight, yet no one reacts to these illegal actions of the authorities.