Who we are
Azda TV is an independent news outlet run by Tajik journalists in exile. We launched in July 2020, after independent media in Tajikistan had been almost entirely dismantled: newspapers shut down, news websites blocked, and journalists imprisoned or forced to flee.
Most of our team worked as reporters in Tajikistan before going into exile. We are based in Warsaw and registered in Poland under the Foundation for the Integration of Cultures (FICI). We produce video, audio and text journalism on Tajikistan, Central Asia and world affairs for Tajik-speaking audiences in the country and across the diaspora.
Our mission
Azda TV exists to provide accurate, verified news to Tajiks at home and abroad, including the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers whose concerns are rarely reported. We hold those in power to account, counter disinformation, and give a voice to people who are otherwise unheard.
Reporting what others cannot
International press freedom and human rights organisations rank Tajikistan among the least free countries in the world. Power and wealth are concentrated around the ruling family, independent media has been shut down, and critics face imprisonment at home and persecution abroad. Under these conditions, many subjects cannot be safely reported from inside the country. From exile, we are able to cover them:
- Corruption, nepotism and abuse of power
- Torture and ill-treatment in detention
- Political prisoners and persecution of critics
- Transnational repression and pressure on families of exiles
- Restrictions on freedom of speech, religion and assembly
- The lives and rights of Tajik migrant workers
- Disinformation and state propaganda
- Developments across Central Asia and the wider region
Our values
- Independence. We are not affiliated with any government, party or political movement. Editorial decisions are made by our newsroom alone.
- Accuracy. We verify every story with multiple sources and correct our mistakes openly.
- Fairness. We give the people we report on the opportunity to respond.
- Pluralism. We publish a wide range of views. Opinion pieces reflect the views of their authors.
We are journalists, not activists.
Sources and contributors
We never reveal a source’s identity without consent, or if doing so could put them at risk. We welcome eyewitness accounts, documents and footage, and our editors verify all of it before publication.
Secure contact: Signal +48 571 608 008 · Email contact@azda.tv
