Tajikistan: trucks with humanitarian aid on behalf of the President were empty

On May 16, all state media in Tajikistan reported that the President Emomali Rahmon sent humanitarian aid to the north of the country in the form of food and medicine. It was reported that the convoy, consisted of 140 trucks, brought about 900 tons of cargo. All relief was intended for medical institutions of Sogd region. However, according to an ACCA source in the administration of the northern region, the region received nothing.

“A convoy of trucks was sent from the regional center of Sogd, which was supposed to reload the cargo sent from Dushanbe in Aininsky district, but in fact there was no cargo,” the source said. “Upon arrival in Aininsky district, the cars, that left Khujand, were simply pasted over with posters, flags, and returned in a festive atmosphere. Then the cars were sent to the cities and districts of the region, as well as to the warehouses of the Health Department, in order to supposedly unload the arrived humanitarian relief. All this was done in order to be later shown on television, but in reality all the cars were empty.”

Recall that this is not the first scandal related to humanitarian aid involving the President’s family. So on May 13, Avesto Group company, owned by the President’s son, was exposed in the appropriation of humanitarian aid during its transfer to the capital’s maternity hospital. On the boxes were flags of China and Tajikistan with the inscription “humanitarian aid”. However, the scandal didn’t end there. The medical institution, to which this assistance was given, didn’t receive it. As it turned out, immediately after the demonstration shootings of the transfer process, Avesto Group company loaded all the medicines back into the cars and took them away in an unknown direction. However, the state television channels of Tajikistan also pompously showed the process of transferring aid from the country’s patriots.

Meanwhile, the family of the President of Tajikistan continues to provide assistance to citizens of the country and medical facilities on their own behalf. The daughter, son, brother-in-law, son-in-law, and father of the son-in-law of the President have already helped the population. The senior grandson of Emomali Rahmon, Ismoil Mahmadzoyir, picked up the baton. He is the son of Firuza (the eldest daughter of the President) and Mahmadzoyir Sokhibov (son-in-law). The report said that a domestic entrepreneur, Ismoil Mahmadzoyir, has assisted thousands of needy families all across the country in the form of food.

Meanwhile, the Tajik authorities say that the number of patients with coronavirus sharply receded. The Minister of Health said that the country has passed the peak incidence of coronavirus. However, the ACCA journalist managed to find out that the number of cases doesn’t increase for another reason. During 3 days, allegedly for technical reasons, the republican laboratory for testing hasn’t been working. In the capital’s hospital in Carabolo, tests were done by the laboratory “Reference”, which also couldn’t receive test tubes during 3 days, and therefore couldn’t do the tests. The only private laboratory “Diamed”, which operates in the capital, can do only about 100 tests per day.

The authorities officially announced the opening of two laboratories in the south of the country – in Bohtar and Kulyab, which, as it turned out, are also not working yet. Citizens with a residence registration in the southern regions are not tested in the capital. They send them to local non-working laboratories.

A laboratory was also opened in the regional center of Sogd. However, testing of citizens hasn’t yet begun. As it turned out, the laboratory does tests for Chinese citizens who work at the joint venture “Zarnisor”. Recall that on May 21, about 60 employees of this enterprise started a revolt, demanding that they be returned to their homeland after one of the Chinese citizens allegedly died from a coronavirus. Special forces crushed the revolt.

According to official statistics, today there are 1769 patients with coronavirus in Tajikistan. 47 people died. However, according to alternative statistics, maintained by Tajik activists, 393 people have died from coronavirus in the country today.