Rahmon met with the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service

On November 22, the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon met with the Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin.

Photo: Internet

According to the president’s press service, Naryshkin is on a working visit to Dushanbe.

The parties paid special attention to the cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia in the field of special services, further strengthening of interaction in the joint fight against terrorism, extremism, and transnational organized crime, the statement noted.

Rahmon and Naryshkin discussed coordination of actions to counter threats, including the “trends in the spread of the ideology of religious radicalism.”

In the last 6-7 years, a large number of Tajik citizens have been detained in Russia at the request of Tajik authorities and extradited to Tajikistan. They have been accused of terrorism and extremism and sentenced to long prison terms. In particular, in recent months, this process has gained momentum. They themselves, and sometimes their relatives, have repeatedly rejected the charges made by the authorities and stated that their detention is related to their political and religious activities.

International organizations have repeatedly criticized the actions of the Tajik authorities. According to them, under the pretext of fighting “terrorism” and “religious extremism,” the regime of Emomali Rahmon systematically and massively violates human rights, detaining and imprisoning those dissatisfied with his policies without fair judicial proceedings.