Video of Gulbidin Ziyobekov’s murder published

The Pamir Daily News portal published a video that allegedly shows an armed man dragging Gulbiddin Ziyobekov with a rope thrown around his neck.

Photo: Internet

The video reportedly captures the moment of Gulbiddin Ziyobekov’s murder in the village of Tavdem in the Roshtkala district of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. The video shows several armed individuals surrounding a man who has fallen to the ground and dragging him by a rope around his neck.

The video was posted on the Facebook page and Telegram channel of Pamir Daily News, provoking a wave of outrage among users and was shared hundreds of times on other pages.

Almost a day after the video was posted online, Tajik authorities had still not officially commented on it. However, a number of unknown users and fake accounts that consistently defend the authorities and try to justify government policies began spreading doubts, claiming that the video is fake, while other users confirm the authenticity of the video and accuse the fake accounts of spreading lies.

On November 25, Gulbiddin Ziyobekov was killed by law enforcement officers in the village of Tavdem, with traces of 7 bullets found on his body. The brutal murder of Gulbiddin Ziyobekov sparked a wave of protests in Khorog. His mother brought her son’s body to the building of the regional hukumat in Ismoil Somoni Square in Khorog, intending to ask the regional chairman why her son was killed in such a horrific manner.

The murder of Gulbiddin Ziyobekov and his mother’s demands prompted hundreds of other protesters to join her and stage a protest, but in response, law enforcement agencies began firing into the crowd, resulting in two deaths and 17 injuries.

From the first day of the protests, the authorities of Tajikistan shut down the internet and mobile communications in the region, particularly in the Roshtkala, Ishkashim, Rushan, Shugnansky districts, and in the city of Khorog, to prevent residents from accessing alternative information and publicizing the crimes committed by law enforcement officers in the region.

It should be noted that the shutdown of the internet and mobile communications undermined public trust in the authorities and the central government, as the internet shutdown in the age of information, technology, and e-commerce increased concerns among the local population and their relatives abroad.