Young people detained for graffiti on buildings

Two young men have been detained by law enforcement agencies in the Khatlon region. They are suspected of writing “calls and threats” on the walls of a store, a school, and a barbershop in the Yakkatut community of the Abdurakhmon Jomi district.

On August 22, 2024, Radio Ozodi reported, citing its sources, that in early August this year, officers from the Department of Internal Affairs of the Abdurakhmon Jomi district detained the two young men. The walls of the Gorky school, a store, and a barbershop in the Yakkatut community of the Abdurakhmon Jomi district bore inscriptions saying “change your phone numbers and your accounts” and “we will burn the homes of those who ‘sell’ us to the authorities,” the report noted.

Following this, the internal affairs officers and representatives of the community gathered the parents and firmly raised the issue of assisting in the search for the suspects.

The suspects, one of whom is 23 years old, were only detained after reviewing the footage from the surveillance cameras at the school building on August 18.

Police officers are still conducting house-to-house searches and questioning residents.

A source from Radio Ozodi in the district administration confirmed the information that the young men were detained on August 22, but did not disclose any details of the case, citing an alleged confidentiality classification on the case and that he did not have permission to communicate with the press.

The detainees are currently unavailable for comments. The motives for their actions remain unknown. Their relatives and friends refuse to communicate with the media. The country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has also not officially commented on the incident yet.

This is not the first case in Tajikistan where individuals have been detained for writing inscriptions and slogans on doors and walls of buildings. In 2014, two minors were detained in Dushanbe for using spray paint to write on residential buildings along Lermontov Street and on a bridge near “Navruzgoh” in support of the already banned “Group 24.” Law enforcement classified these inscriptions as “propagandistic anti-government” slogans.

Earlier, slogans calling for the resignation of President Emomali Rahmon and his government also appeared in Khujand and in one of the underpasses in Dushanbe. It is still unknown whether anyone has been detained or punished for these slogans.