The authorities tightly controlled news and information around the COVID-19 pandemic and restricted freedom of expression, blaming media and civil society for spreading “false” information. The courts used counter-terrorism legislation to block access to some independent media outlets based abroad....

The Tajikistani authorities are perpetuating systemic discrimination and severe human rights violations against the Pamiri minority, according to new research by Amnesty International. The Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) in East Tajikistan is home to several ethnic groups forming the...

The Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and a pervasive focus on ‘traditional values’ have contributed to a deterioration in human rights and rising levels of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Amnesty International said...

Reacting to the visit of Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders to Tajikistan, which concluded on 9 December, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: “In her capacity as UN Rapporteur on the Situation of...

The Russian government must immediately stop the deportation of at least 17 Tajikistani nationals detained during a peaceful protest in Moscow on 2 April against the suspected rendition of a fellow countryman, Amnesty International said today. The detained Tajikistani nationals, mostly migrant...

Governments in Eastern European and Central Asian countries are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with repressive and abusive measures which fall far short of their human rights obligations, Amnesty International said today. The organization has released a new briefing Eastern Europe and Central...

Responding to news that a Tajikistani court has released independent journalist and prisoner of conscience Khayrullo Mirsaidov after more than eight months behind bars for making allegations of government corruption, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central...

Tajikistani authorities have dealt a major blow to the legal profession through political manipulation of the criminal justice system and repressive legislation, Amnesty International said today ahead of the country’s National Lawyer Day. A new briefing reveals a raft of repressive government...

Photo: Poster of Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon in Dushanbe. Umarali Kuvvatov and his family received threats, some allegedly coming from the highest levels of Tajikistan’s authorities. © AFP/Getty Images Associates of Umarali Kuvvatov, a founding member of a Tajikistan opposition group,...

Tajikistan must immediately cease a campaign of harassment and violence against people accused of “moral crimes”, Amnesty International said today. Police have seized more than 500 sex workers and a number of men suspected of ‘homosexual behaviour’ since 6 June.   In a series of midnight sweeps in...

Tajikistan has ordered non-governmental organization (NGO) Young Lawyers Association “Amparo” to be shut down in what appears to be a politically motivated case, prompting Amnesty International to reiterate its call for civil society activists not to be harassed or intimidated.Meanwhile two other...

The Tajikistani authorities must immediately release a BBC journalist, apparently held solely for his writing work, who is alleged to have been tortured or ill-treated while in detention, said Amnesty International.Urunboy Usmonov was arrested on 13 June and has been charged with participation in...

Women often bear the brunt of poverty and human rights abuses; but as activists they use these roles to trigger positive social change. To mark World Human Rights Day, Amnesty International spoke to three women who put their lives on the line in defence of human rights. Women are affected by...