Tajik President Emomali Rahmon signed a scandalous law that will allow imprisoning people for the spread of infectious diseases, and fine the mass media and citizens for disseminating false information about the COVID-19 pandemic.
From now on, any information on the coronavirus pandemic that differs from the official one will be considered unreliable, and thousands of active citizens who daily report on new facts of the death of citizens from COVID-19 via social networks will be fined. The mass media will also be required to refer only to official sources, otherwise they cannot avoid being fined.
The new law also allows to fine citizens for going out without wearing a mask, and send people to jail for up to 10 years for spreading the disease.
Earlier, some human rights organizations and the Tajik media called on the president not to sign the bill, noting that the amendments would become a pretext for prosecuting activists and independent journalists. International organizations such as Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists made the same appeal to the Tajik authorities.
Recall that the scandal associated with the coronavirus pandemic in Tajikistan began when the authorities failed to recognize the existence of COVID-19 for a long time, while the media and civil society routinely revealed the facts of illness and death of citizens. This confrontation continues even now. Authorities say that during the whole period, only 53 people died from coronavirus in Tajikistan. However, according to alternative statistics compiled by activists, recording deaths by name, COVID-19 has already taken the lives of more than 437 citizens of the country. When publishing materials about the pandemic situation, many Tajik mass media used mentioned above alternative statistics, however, according to the new law, the media will be fined for publishing these data.
Ordinary citizens may face even harsher sentences. They can be held liable only for just liking a post with any information on social networks that contradicts official data. This practice has been applied in Tajikistan for several years. Thousands of citizens who liked the articles and religious videos which are prohibited in Tajikistan were sent to jail. At the end of 2019, about 500 citizens convicted of likes on social networks were pardoned and released from the prisons.
Meanwhile, the president of Tajikistan, during his visit to the north of the country, accused officials of corruption. According to him, a number of representatives of medical institutions decided to make money on humanitarian aid coming to the country. Rakhmon said that as a result of the identification of such facts, 45 criminal cases were initiated just only in the Sughd region. Recall that ACCA previously posted about the numerous facts of the sale, theft, and appropriation of humanitarian aid by the relatives of the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.
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