How and who violates human rights in Tajikistan?

Freedom of Thought and Suppression of Protests in Khorog

This year, the first case of human rights violations was recorded in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. Residents have faced pressure since November 2021, when, following the murder of Gulbidin Ziyobekov, a native of the Roshtkala district, residents organized a protest. At that time, several school teachers reported to non-governmental publications that they were being forced to appear on the local television channel “TV Badakhshan” and read pre-prepared texts against the protesters. In particular, Nargis Jonmirzoeva and Aziza Karachabekova stated: “We were called there to give a character reference for one of our teachers. But when we arrived, employees from the juvenile affairs department, Maisara Azizbekova and a certain Shoimardonov, began to pressure us and forced us to read their text in front of the cameras.”

It can be said that the first protest regarding human rights violations in Tajikistan was voiced by Human Rights Watch in connection with the events in Khorog in the fall of 2021. On February 7, 2022, the organization called on the Tajik authorities to disclose the location of Amriddin Alovatshoev, a Badakhshan native living in Russia, who joined the protesters in Russia after mass demonstrations in Badakhshan in the fall of 2021.

The organization also urged the official authorities to “immediately restore internet access in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, which was blocked on November 25, 2021, amid large-scale protests.” Experts from this international organization believed that the communication shutdown in Gorno-Badakhshan not only violated the right to free expression but also created problems and even risks for the entire population.

Amriddin Alovatshoev was detained on January 11 of this year in Belgorod, Russia, and extradited to Tajikistan. In this regard, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan reported on February 2 that “he was extradited” by the Russian authorities. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs claimed that he “voluntarily returned” to his homeland.

During the two weeks he was missing, the case became loud and resonant, but throughout this time, the authorities denied his extradition to Tajikistan. As a result of the protests in GBAO, 77 people were sent to prison. The authorities confirmed the extradition of Amriddin Alovatshoev to Tajikistan in early February. Internet access in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region was restored four months after the shutdown, on March 21, 2022.

The second protest regarding human rights violations in Tajikistan occurred in March. Exactly one month after the statement from Human Rights Watch, on March 7 of this year, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet criticized the Tajik authorities for the “ongoing practice of suppressing political dissent” and “creating an atmosphere of fear and repression” in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.

She stated: “Repressions against the opposition continue in Tajikistan. An increasing number of members of opposition groups are being sentenced to long prison terms. This occurs during trials that do not meet the standards of due process.”

However, public protests in Khorog did not cease, and in May, residents again held peaceful protests in the central square, demanding justice. Meanwhile, on May 20, the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes, called for an end to the repression against members of the Pamiri minority in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.

In June 2022, President Emomali Rahmon admitted that he personally “ordered the liquidation of armed militants,” the organizers of these protests.

In the country, the suppression of the opposition and dissenters continued. The authorities responded to the protests with detentions and pressure on activists in GBAO, and the detention of activists in this regard continues to this day.

While this material was being prepared, reports emerged in the press that Tokhir Abdolbekov, the former head of the housing and communal services department of Khorog, had been detained. The authorities suspect him of “providing material assistance to protest participants.”

Another fact in this regard is the placement of Tajik convicted lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov in a punishment cell. He was punished for arguing with the prison administration about the role of the president in society on the Day of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, and his statements were not liked by the administration.

Restriction of Access to Information

After the protests continued and gained serious momentum, Tajik authorities warned independent publications to refrain from covering events in Badakhshan. On May 17 of this year, unknown individuals attacked correspondents of Radio Ozodi and Current Time after their interview with Ulfatkhon Mamadshoeva and confiscated their phones and video cameras. For this reason, the President of the media corporation Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Jamie Fly, expressed his protest in a letter to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.

“The correspondents of Radio Ozodi and Current Time, as well as their family members, were attacked, and their electronic devices used in their professional activities were confiscated (and the authorities show no desire to investigate or hold those responsible for these incidents accountable). Radio Ozodi staff face online and verbal abuse, short-term detentions, and threats of arrest without any reason,” wrote Jamie Fly.

Thus, access to information in Tajikistan is blocked by any means. To obtain information from the authorities, they require a written request or openly state that they will not speak with non-governmental media. The detention of eight bloggers and journalists in 2022 further complicated the situation. Today, even experts refrain from speaking with the press and do not want to share their opinions.

Sadullo Kayumzoda, the lawyer of the journalist Daler Imomali, sentenced to 10 years, reported that on November 22, 2022, the Shohmansur district court was to transfer all materials of the criminal case to the city court of Dushanbe. According to the lawyer, a week later, the Dushanbe court was supposed to set a date for the consideration of the cassation appeal.

On November 22, Abdurakhmon Sharifov, the lawyer of the journalist Abdullo Gurbati, sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, also reported that “this week the materials of the criminal case should be transferred to the city court.”

The convicts themselves and their relatives hoped that the Dushanbe court would mitigate their sentences and reduce their terms. However, unfortunately, recently the Dushanbe court did not take into account the journalists’ complaints and upheld the decision of the Shohmansur district court. Now the verdict of the Shohmansur district court has come into force, as the journalists have already been transferred to the colony. In many cases, journalists complained about the lack of access to information. For example, high-ranking officials do not participate in press conferences. And if they do participate, they do not answer important questions.

After the incidents on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border, Radio Ozodi raised this issue. “Journalists in Tajikistan say that the authorities have called on them to cover border incidents in the interest of the country, but in return, they do not provide information or facts,” the report noted.

Journalist and expert Rajabi Mirzo believes that sometimes the government or groups close to it try to accuse their colleagues of not joining the “information war.” This is how they want to absolve themselves of responsibility. It seems that in Tajikistan, they still do not understand “information processing,” which is one of the important components of global politics. Otherwise, we have many opportunities.”

The blocking of websites such as Radio Ozodi, Azda TV, Payom.net, and Bomdod, which provide the public with alternative news, is another method of restricting access to information practiced by the Tajik government.

Freedom of Religion

In such cases, local government authorities usually begin to forcibly remove headscarves from women and shave the beards of men under the pretext that “the order came from above.” It does not matter what beliefs women in headscarves or men with beards adhere to, whether they are members of any party or movement or not.

The annual American report on religious freedom in Tajikistan states: “During the eighth annual bilateral consultations between the USA and Tajikistan, held on July 1 in Washington, D.C., officials from both countries discussed ways to promote religious freedom, and U.S. officials urged the Tajik government to ease religious restrictions, not to prohibit children from participating in religious ceremonies, to register organizations of national minorities, not to prohibit willing Muslims from wearing beards and hijabs, and to release detained followers of Jehovah’s Witnesses Shamil Hakimov and Rustamjon Norov.”

However, apparently, none of these proposals were taken into account by the Tajik authorities. In June of this year, the parliament amended the Tajik law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations.”

The new amendments made it impossible for a number of individuals to become clergy. On June 28, Mujibakhon Javkhari, a member of the Tajik parliament and one of the authors of this law, stated: “The list includes citizens who have violated the law against sexual inviolability and personal sexual freedom, individuals who have committed terrorist and extremist crimes, as well as other serious and particularly serious crimes, cannot be founders or members of religious associations.”

Among other restrictions, all stores selling religious literature were closed in Dushanbe. According to Radio Ozodi, the authorities did not comment on these actions in any way.

In September of this year, political prisoner Zubaidullo Rozik, a member of the Supreme Presidium of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, was placed in a punishment cell as punishment merely for having a Quran and books of hadith found in his cell. The elderly man spent several days in the punishment cell.

On November 17, Radio Ozodi reported new raids against women’s hijabs and men’s beards under the pretext of “promoting national clothing.”

Torture

Torture in places of detention is one of the most common methods to force detainees to confess to crimes. This is evidenced by a letter full of bitterness and suffering from detained journalist Abdusattor Pirmukhammadzo, which was recently made public. In his letter, he wrote: “Eight to ten days of torture, complete isolation, threats and insults directed at my family forced me to take on a crime I did not commit. Under physical pressure, I read on camera a text prepared by the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan about an alleged constant contact with opposition leader Muhiddin Kabiri and the preparation of a revolution together with him in Tajikistan.”

After Pirmukhammadzo met with relatives, he reported that he was tortured for writing this letter.

This year, the authorities of Tajikistan reported that over five years, they received 40 complaints about torture in places of detention, 5 of which were received in the six months of 2022.

Domestic Violence and Victims of Border Conflicts

In July of this year, it was reported that a 47-year-old woman left her home due to domestic violence in the Kushoniyon district of the Khatlon region. The woman reported that she was subjected to violence by her husband because she did not give birth to a son. 47-year-old Gulraftor Nozimova, a resident of the Kushoniyon district, says that domestic violence destroyed her life and shattered her children’s psyche. According to her, she endured her husband’s abuse for 16 years in the hope that one day he would change, but that did not happen.

In the past year, 100 cases of domestic violence have been recorded in the Khatlon region, with women mainly subjected to physical, psychological, and sometimes sexual violence.

Kurbony Holova, who works in a women’s rights protection organization, says that one of the main reasons for family breakdown is violence against women. The police in Dushanbe fined a resident of the Firdausi district for beating his child. An administrative penalty was imposed on 47-year-old Zikriyo Odinaev after a video of him beating a minor child was published on social media.

Social media users condemned his behavior and called on the authorities to hold Odinaev accountable. The man later, in his video address, apologized to everyone for his inappropriate behavior and promised that it would not happen again.

In the past year, more than fifty people have been detained in Tajikistan for child abuse, some sentenced to imprisonment, others to administrative fines. The authorities of Tajikistan explain their behavior as irresponsibility. Others see all this as a consequence of social problems, including unemployment and poverty.

In some cases, domestic violence can lead to the suicide of women, especially daughters-in-law. In August 2022, the prosecutor’s office of the Sughd region accused the mother-in-law and other family members of the husband in the death of a 27-year-old woman. On June 29, San’at Gafforova, a resident of the Dadojona community in the Gafurov district, jumped into the Syr Darya River with her two minor children. The prosecutor of the Sughd region, Furkat Khojazoda, explained to journalists the reason for the woman’s suicide with two children. According to him, a criminal case has been initiated against the mother-in-law of this woman, Mahbuba Saidolimova, and other relatives of her husband under Article 109 “Driving to Suicide” of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan. At the same time, Mahbuba Saidolimova, the mother-in-law of San’at Gafforova, stated that she had not spoken to her daughter-in-law for the last eight months. “She hardly greeted me. Sometimes she brought the children so that I could sit with them. I do not consider myself guilty of her death,” she said.

In August, police in the Rasht district detained Sulton Abduvohid, a resident of the village of Khojaali, whose wife jumped into the Sorbog River. On August 5, 23-year-old Mahinai Holakhmad, a resident of the village of Khojaali, jumped from the bridge into the Sorbog River.

“After her husband announced his intention to divorce her, the mother-in-law forcibly took the nine-month-old baby from the daughter-in-law. The young woman went outside and called her father from a neighbor’s mobile phone to inform him of what had happened. However, the father, without delving into the essence, and in order to preserve the young family, forbade his daughter from returning to her parental home. After that, Mahina went and jumped from the bridge into the Sorbog River,” recounted a resident of the Khojaali village in the Rasht district.

Her husband’s family claimed that she committed suicide after the divorce. Mahina’s mother said that her husband’s relatives tormented her.

On November 1, the Faizobod district court sentenced local resident Bibikalon Nazirova to seven years in a penal colony. The court found her guilty of driving her fiancée Manorai Abdulfattoh, who died in June 2021 from 26 stab wounds, to suicide. Bibikalon Nazirova was found guilty under part 2 of Article 109 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan and sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Border Conflicts

Every year, dozens of residents of the country die in border conflicts along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border. The largest and bloodiest conflict in the history of Tajik-Kyrgyz border conflicts occurred in September of this year, in which Kyrgyzstan used drones.

According to official data from the Tajik authorities, 50 people died in the conflict, but Radio Ozodi compiled a list of 83 citizens of Tajikistan who died, 31 of whom were civilians. Four of them were children aged three, five, six, and eight years.

Munavvarhon Mahmudova, a 62-year-old resident of the Chilgazi community in the city of Isfara in Tajikistan, is considered the oldest among the civilian casualties resulting from the conflict on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border. More than 200 people were injured as a result of this conflict.

This was the situation with human rights in Tajikistan in 2022.