Fine of 48,000 somoni for a feast

A resident of the Sughd region was fined for celebrating his birthday with friends.

Photo: Internet

According to the press center of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan, a resident of the Jabbor Rasulov district was fined for illegally celebrating his birthday with friends. He was found guilty under Article 481, Part 2 of the Administrative Offenses Code of Tajikistan and sentenced to a fine of 48,000 somoni (4,700 dollars).

“Individual entrepreneur Shoabbaz Umedovich Bakhronov, born in 1970, a resident of the Jabbor Rasulov district, celebrated his birthday outside the family circle on June 17, 2022, with 6 people at a national dining hall located in the Degmai rural community of the Jabbor Rasulov district. Thus, he violated the requirements of Article 8 of the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan ‘On the Regulation of Traditions, Celebrations, and Rituals in the Republic of Tajikistan,’” the statement notes.

The Prosecutor’s Office of the Jabbor Rasulov district initiated an administrative case and sent the case to court. By the court’s decision, the entrepreneur was found guilty of committing an administrative offense and was fined 750 calculation indicators – 48,000 somoni.

According to experts, there is no law anywhere in the world that imposes such large fines for celebrating a birthday with friends.

In this regard, one Tajik entrepreneur, speaking to Azda tv on condition of anonymity, stated:

“Many examples can be cited of how officials themselves hold lavish feasts with a large number of guests, for which they should be fined millions of somoni, starting from the president down to low-level officials. However, in Tajikistan, the law exists only for those who have no money or connections, or when the authorities want to take revenge on these people. In such cases, even the authorities act not according to the law, but interpret it to their advantage and accuse a person of a non-existent offense.”