Self-censorship as a principle of survival for journalists in Tajikistan

Tajikistan has dropped two positions in the Press Freedom Index compared to last year, ranking 155th out of 180 countries. On World Press Freedom Day, the international organization “Reporters Without Borders” presented a new report on the state of press freedom worldwide.

Jeanne Cavelier, head of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia bureau of “Reporters Without Borders,” described the situation regarding freedom of speech in Tajikistan as “very unfavorable” in an interview with Radio Ozodi.

“Tajikistan remains among the countries with the ‘worst’ conditions for journalists. We do not see the political will to improve working conditions for journalists or to change the situation in any way. The authorities of Tajikistan do not show proper respect for independent media and do not support them in any way,” she said.

In 2022-2023, eight independent Tajik journalists and bloggers were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 7 to 21 years. Neither statements from international organizations and human rights defenders, nor individual appeals to the president, nor public outcry saved them from imprisonment. The authorities found them guilty of collaborating with banned organizations, but the convicted individuals reported that they gave confessions under pressure and torture. According to human rights defenders, the persecution and trials of their colleagues have morally suppressed independent journalists in Tajikistan. Fear and self-censorship, leaving journalism, and the closure of media outlets are also overwhelming factors for the mass media. The U.S. State Department criticized Dushanbe in April of this year for “deteriorating conditions for the free operation of journalists, censorship, persecution, and intimidation by the authorities.”

“Authorities must stop the persecution”

“The repressive course of Emomali Rahmon is intensifying. The government subjects all information published on radio, television, and the Internet to strict control, and access to official information for independent media is extremely limited. In May of last year, the Supreme Court banned the online publication Pamir Daily News, which was an important source of information from the remote region of GBAO. Authorities are persecuting journalists for covering cases of human rights violations,” said Zhanna Kavelie. According to her, only 30% of the population of Tajikistan has access to the Internet, which is strictly controlled, and some websites and social networks are unavailable. “Many news agencies are forced to operate from abroad. Many journalists have left the country, and those who remain resort to self-censorship. Journalists who dare to criticize the government face physical persecution, threats, detention, and imprisonment,” Kavelie emphasized. She believes that the authorities of Tajikistan should try to rectify the situation: “The government of Tajikistan, and above all President Emomali Rahmon, must immediately stop suppressing the free press, strive to change the situation, and improve indicators in the media sector.” Journalists from independent media in Tajikistan report pressure from law enforcement agencies, insufficient efforts from media organizations to support them, and a lack of journalistic solidarity. As a result of these problems, in their opinion, journalists and bloggers Daler Imomali, Abdullo Gurbati, Zavkibek Saidamini, Abdusatttor Pirmukhammadzoda, Khurshed Fozilov, Ulfatkhanim Mamadshoeva, and others have been sentenced to long prison terms.

Central Asia and Eastern Europe under the Influence of the Kremlin

Among the countries of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan still leads in terms of freedom of speech (ranked 120th). Turkmenistan (175th position) is among the ten countries with the worst situation regarding press freedom. Researchers note the unlimited powers of the president of Turkmenistan, who “prohibits any independent information.” Below Turkmenistan in the ranking are only Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea. The top five countries in the ranking are Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Finland.

Ukraine, despite the Russian invasion, has managed to improve its indicators. Over the year, the country has risen 18 positions in the press freedom ranking. According to the report’s authors, this occurred due to a decrease in political interference in the work of the media, and the number of journalists killed in the country has also decreased. Belarus, where the regime persecutes journalists “under the pretext of fighting ‘extremism’,” ranked 167th. Russia (162nd in the ranking) continues its “campaign against independent journalism.” More than 1,500 journalists have left Russia since its invasion of Ukraine. “The list of journalists and media outlets marked by the government as ‘foreign agents’ or ‘undesirable’ continues to grow, and journalists are still subjected to unjustified arrests,” notes RSF in its report. Georgia (103rd place) has dropped 26 positions in the ranking. The ruling party “maintains societal polarization, cultivates rapprochement with Moscow, and pursues a policy increasingly hostile to press freedom.” In Azerbaijan (164th place), there is also a decline in all indicators, especially political ones, “due to a wave of repression against the media ahead of the presidential elections.”

Overall, the situation in Eastern Europe and Central Asia has worsened, according to the authors of the study. In their opinion, press freedom is not guaranteed there, and the media is increasingly used as channels for spreading disinformation. The report’s authors speak of the “harmful political influence of the Kremlin”: many countries in the region replicate Russian practices. It is noted that Russia’s influence extends as far as Serbia (98th place, a drop of 7 positions), where pro-government media “broadcast Russian propaganda, and authorities threaten Russian journalists in exile.” According to RSF experts, Moscow’s influence reaches the European Union as well. In particular, in Hungary (67th place), whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban is known for being the most pro-Kremlin among EU leaders, press freedom “is seriously tested due to the actions of the ruling majority.”

Deteriorating Situation Worldwide

According to the findings, press freedom worldwide is under threat from authorities that are supposed to act as its guarantors. Of the five indicators underlying the ranking, the political indicator showed the greatest decline—by an average of 7.6 points globally. Governments are unable to protect journalism, the report’s authors believe. They argue that more and more governments and political authorities are failing to fulfill their role as guarantors of creating the best conditions for journalism and realizing the public’s right to reliable, independent, and pluralistic information. “States and political forces, regardless of their political orientation, play an increasingly lesser role in protecting press freedom. This abdication of responsibility is sometimes accompanied by doubt in the role of journalists or even the use of the media in campaigns of harassment or disinformation,” says Anne Bockandé, editorial director of RSF.

According to RSF, governments in many countries are tightening control over social media and the internet, restricting access to the web, blocking accounts, and removing news posts. In Vietnam (174th place), journalists expressing their opinions on social media are “almost systematically” imprisoned. In China (172nd place), the government continues to exercise strict control over information dissemination channels, implementing censorship and surveillance policies, in addition to the fact that the country “holds the largest number of journalists in prison in the world.” The renewed war in Gaza, which began in October 2023 following a jihadist attack, has been marked by a record number of abuses against journalists and media: more than 100 Palestinian reporters have been killed, over two dozen of them while performing their professional duties. Afghanistan has lost 44 points in the political indicator. It is noted that since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, the suppression of journalism has continued there.

Press freedom advocates are also concerned about the lack of regulation of artificial intelligence capable of generating text and media content, amid possible attempts to influence the course of democratic elections using deepfakes. One of the first documented examples cited by RSF is an audio deepfake, of which journalist Monika Todova was a victim during the parliamentary elections in Slovakia (29th place, a drop of 12 positions). The aim of this attack is said to be an attempt to influence the course of democratic elections. “Reporters Without Borders” believes that last year the international community made clearly insufficient efforts to ensure the adherence to principles of journalist protection worldwide.