CPJ calls on Tajik authorities to stop harassing relatives of exiled journalists

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon meet in Kazan, Russia, in February. Authorities in Tajikistan are harassing family members of exiled Azda TV journalists. The country is regularly cited as one of the world’s most prolific perpetrators of transnational repression. (Photo: Sputnik/Kristina Kormilitsyna/Kremlin via Reuters)

Stockholm, May 24, 2024 — Authorities in Tajikistan must end harassment of family members of journalists at independent European channel Azda TV and allow exiled journalists to work without fear of reprisals, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Friday .

Since the end of last year, Tajik law enforcement agencies have repeatedly summoned, interrogated and threatened the relatives of five Azda TV journalists in connection with their work, according to the director and editor-in-chief of Azda TV, Muhamadjon Kabirov, who spoke by telephone with CPJ. Kabirov said harassment of journalists’ family members has been going on for several years but has intensified in recent months.

Separately, four of Azda TV’s five journalists appear alongside at least a dozen exiled Tajik journalists on a list of people wanted by the Russian Interior Ministry published by Russian media earlier this year. Kabirov told CPJ there was “little doubt” that Russian authorities placed them there at the request of the Tajik government.

International human rights organizations regularly name Tajikistan as one of the most prolific countries in the world for transnational repression – the silencing of dissent abroad through tactics such as assassinations alleged crimes, restitution and family intimidation. CPJ has repeatedly documented how Tajik authorities harassed relatives of exiled journalists in retaliation for the journalists’ work.

“Tajikistan continues to maintain its unfortunate reputation as one of the world’s worst perpetrators of transnational repression. After forcing dozens of journalists into exile, the authorities continue to hunt them down and harass them, attacking their loved ones. No journalist should have to endure the anguish of knowing they are putting their loved ones in danger,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator in New York. “The Tajik authorities must put an end to this appalling practice of transnational sanctions. Exiled journalists play a crucial role in disseminating independent information and countering Russian propaganda in Tajikistan, and Western governments and journalists’ organizations should support them. »

Azda TV was established in 2019 and primarily publishes on YouTube, where it has nearly 180,000 subscribers across its Tajik and Russian channels, which feature a popular flagship daily news show. The media outlet’s website was blocked in Tajikistan, according to Kabirov.

Kabirov told CPJ that Tajik police and prosecutors have summoned his father, father-in-law and mother-in-law “dozens” of times in recent months, putting pressure on them to persuade Kabirov to stop his work. and to convince him and his loved ones. wife to return to Tajikistan. Kabirov’s 72-year-old father-in-law died of a heart attack the day after one of these repeated interrogations, he said, but added that he did not have enough evidence. information to say whether this was linked to harassment by the authorities.

Tajik law enforcement also harassed relatives of Azda TV presenters Firuz Hayit and Shuhrat Rahmatullo, as well as journalists Amrullo Nizomov and Mahmadsharif Magzumzoda – sometimes summoning them two or three times a month in connection with the journalists’ work, according to information provided by journalists provided to CPJ. by Kabirov. Nizomov told CPJ that police detained his two brothers for a week last September and beat them, and have continued to summon them since, which he said is due to his work for Azda and his critical publications on social networks.

Tajik authorities did not officially announce the ban on Azda TV, calling it “extremist,” as they did with other exile media outlets, but justified the seven-year sentence in 2022. and a half prison sentence handed down against journalist Abdullo Ghurbati in part with his subscription to the Azda TV YouTube channel, claiming that the channel was linked to “extremist and terrorist” opposition groups.

Several Azda TV employees fled Tajikistan with what reports say could be dozens of journalists in 2015-2017, amid a crackdown that followed the banning of the country’s main opposition party, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). Kabirov and several of his colleagues are closely linked to prominent exiled or imprisoned IRPT leaders, while Kabirov is also a well-known human rights activist, and members of his family and those of his Colleagues have been targeted before for these reasons, but journalists told CPJ they are convinced the recent pressures are due to their journalistic work.

Harassment against journalists’ family members culminated in Azda’s coverage of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon’s visits to Europe in September and April, which was accompanied by a wider wave of pressure on relatives of Tajik activists based in Europe, Kabirov said, but the harassment has increased over the past two years as Azda’s reporting has become more analytical and alternative critical voices have been increasingly silenced. .

CPJ has previously documented how Tajik authorities harassed the relatives of exiled journalists Humayra Bakhtiyar, Mirzo Salimpur and Anora Sarkorova. Last year, Shavkatjon Sharipov, head of broadcasting for the exiled news outlet Payom, claimed that Tajik authorities had extradited his brother from Russia based on what he described as false accusations of extremism , in retaliation for Sharipov’s work.

In February, independent Russian media outlet Mediazona published the Russian Interior Ministry’s comprehensive database of wanted persons. CPJ identified the names of a dozen Tajik journalists on the list: Kabirov, Rahmatullo, Nizomov and Magzumzoda of Azda TV; journalists Sharipov, Abdumanon Sheraliev, Tahmina Bobokhonova and Soima Saidova from Payom; Muhamadiqbol Sadriddinov (Sadurdinov), founder of the exile-based Isloh TV television channel; independent journalist and activist Temur Varky (Klychev); and journalists of Pamiri origin Anora Sarkorova and Rustam Joni (Djoniev).

Some journalists told CPJ they were aware of retaliatory criminal charges or convictions against them, and others have previously been reported in the media, while Tajik authorities confirmed a criminal case against Sarkorova following the publication of the Mediazona report. Kabirov said he, Nizomov and Magzumzoda were not aware of any criminal proceedings against them in Tajikistan, but were not surprised to find themselves on the wanted list. “The Tajik government uses all mechanisms and opportunities to target activists and journalists,” Kabirov said, adding that Azda journalists “usually avoid traveling to post-Soviet countries” due to the risk of extradition to Tajikistan.

CPJ emailed the Ministry of Interior and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Tajikistan for comment, but received no response.