Tajikistan: authorities began to use repressive measures against critics

Faced with harsh criticism from the country’s population, which accuses the country’s leadership of inaction, corruption and deceit, authorities began to persecute critics by law enforcement agencies.

Residents of Khuroson district, who blocked the Dushanbe-Bokhtar road on May 17 with a demand to solve their problems, are being prosecuted by law enforcement agencies today. Recall that last week, mudflows affected hundreds of homes in Khuroson region, but the residents didn’t get any help from the authorities. The officers of law enforcement agencies dispersed the rally, and the participants are detained to this day. At the same time, the authorities officially announced that all affected families would receive land plot.

At the same time, civil activists were persecuted for criticizing the authorities regarding fraud with humanitarian aid coming to the country, the real situation in hospitals, and lies about the real number of coronavirus victims. So, the journalist Khairullo Mirsaidov made a post on his Facebook page that police officers had come to his home and demanded that his parents give him his address and phone number. Recall, due to persecution, arrest and trial, Mirsaidov was forced to leave the country in 2018 and lives in the territory of the European Union. He repeatedly wrote about corruption schemes of the authorities, in particular about the President’s family, which distributes humanitarian aid from other countries on their behalf.

Several other activists, who expressed their opinions on social networks, faced similar problems. They told the ACCA journalist that national security officers came to their home with threats not to write critical comments.

“I wonder since when the National Security Committee deals with criticism of the health sector,” one of the activists said in an interview with ACCA. “The funniest thing in this situation is that the employees had nothing to accuse me; they just got off with general words when I reminded them of my civil rights.”

Another activist told ACCA that police officers spoke with his parents and demanded that they reassure their son. “I live separately from my parents, and when my mother called me and told me about the police’s visit, I was surprised because there are thousands of such comments on social networks,” the activist said. “It turns out that the police will now go to everyone’s home and threaten,” he wondered.

At the same time, the authorities of Tajikistan began to force doctors and patients with coronavirus to say words of gratitude to the President on camera and talk about good conditions in hospitals. Such videos began to appear systematically after exposing members of the President’s family to misappropriation of international humanitarian aid.

However, the most negative thing for the President’s image was that humanitarian aid, that arrived in the country, was distributed among the regions as a gift on behalf of Emomali Rahmon. Photos of cars with such inscriptions are widely discussed on the Internet not only in Tajikistan, but also far beyond its borders.

In autumn, the next presidential election should be held in Tajikistan.