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HUMAN RIGHTS
CPJ condemned the ban on the Pamir Daily News website
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the decision of the Supreme Court of Tajikistan to ban the publication Pamir Daily News as “extremist.” The statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists was published on July 20 on the organization’s website. Gulnoza Said, the CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, stated that the actions […]
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the decision of the Supreme Court of Tajikistan to ban the publication Pamir Daily News as “extremist.”
The statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists was published on July 20 on the organization’s website.
Gulnoza Said, the CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, stated that the actions of the Tajik authorities to ban the independent news site Pamir Daily News and to label it “extremist” is, “unfortunately, a predictable step in the ongoing criminalization of any coverage of human rights violations by the government of the country.”
“The authorities of Tajikistan must lift this ban and stop their systematic attempts to silence reports about the situation in the region populated by the ethnic minority – Pamiris,” Gulnoza Said noted.
Previously, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan declared the internet portal Pamir Daily News extremist, which primarily covers events in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.
The decision of the Supreme Court of Tajikistan was made on June 14, 2023, based on a statement from the General Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan.
According to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan, the activities of the internet portal Pamir Daily News have been declared prohibited on the territory of Tajikistan, and citizens cooperating with the portal will be held criminally liable.
After this, the editorial team of Pamir Daily News decided to rebrand and changed the name of the publication to Pamir Inside.
In a statement, the editorial team emphasized that the portal will continue its work “with even greater motivation, dedication, and the main goal of showing the true face of this deceitful, illegitimate, and anti-people authority.”
International organizations often criticize the authorities of Tajikistan for restricting freedom of speech and expression, blocking news websites, pressuring and detaining journalists and bloggers; however, the authorities of the country continue to ignore them.
