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14 Apr 2025

Central Asia, Tajikistan Justice, Justice, Tajikistan, Tajikistan Home

Tajikistan Abolishes Criminal Prosecution for Social Media ‘Likes’

April 14, 2025
By Vagit Ismailov

Tajikistan will no longer criminalize the use of “likes” or emoji reactions on social media posts. Amendments to the Criminal Code were unanimously approved on April 10 during the first session of the newly elected lower house of parliament, the Majlisi Namoyandagon.

The legislative initiative, introduced by First Deputy Prosecutor General Umed Karimzoda, removes language from Articles 179(3) and 307(1) of the Criminal Code that allowed for punishment for “endorsing” extremist or terrorist content. Specifically, the phrase “liking or other sign of approval” will be eliminated from the law. The reform will take effect after approval by the upper house of parliament, a presidential signature, and official publication.

Up to 15 Years for Liking: The Way It Used to Be

Previously, Tajikistan’s legislation permitted real prison sentences for online activity. Article 179(3), concerning public incitement to terrorism, carried penalties of 5 to 15 years in prison. Article 307(1), concerning public justification of extremism, allowed for 3 to 12 years behind bars. This justification included simple actions such as liking or reposting flagged content.

According to Karimzoda, 1,507 people are currently imprisoned for social media activity involving likes or comments on extremist-designated materials. This figure, cited from the Main Department of Corrections, had not been officially disclosed prior to his statement. The Supreme Court of Tajikistan has also consistently declined to release related statistics to the press or the public.

Government Response and Rahmon’s Remarks

President Emomali Rahmon had already voiced concern over such judicial practices in October 2024, calling on authorities to end prosecutions based on social media interactions. “Some bodies are bringing cases without grounds and this should be stopped,” Rahmon said at the time.

Despite this directive, media reports indicate that security services continued to detain individuals, seize phones, and inspect social media activity.

One high-profile example involved the family of journalist Shervon Umriddin. In April 2024, his brother was detained in the town of Penjikent after authorities inspected his phone and discovered likes on opposition-related posts. A similar incident had affected another relative a year earlier. Both were eventually released after paying fines.

Legal Experts and Human Rights Concerns

Media lawyer Ranget Yatimov recalled that as early as 2018, human rights defenders warned of the risk of abuse stemming from the vague interpretation of anti-extremist legislation. Courts began equating “likes” on controversial content with public justification of terrorism. Yatimov also highlighted that such court hearings are typically held behind closed doors, lacking transparency or external oversight.

Following Rahmon’s remarks, lawyers and civil society activists emphasized that rhetorical criticism was insufficient. “If the president has a desire to change the situation, he should officially initiate the legislative abolition of such norms. Otherwise, it will remain in words,” said political migrant Farҳod Odinaev.

International human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned Tajikistan for restricting freedom of expression. Criminal penalties for digital activity, including likes and comments, have been widely regarded as a violation of basic human rights.

The repeal of this provision could mark a step toward more proportionate law enforcement and an improved international reputation for Tajikistan. However, the real impact will only be clear once the amendments are enacted and enforced.

14 Apr 2025

Central Asia, Home, Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Business & Economy, Features, Kazakhstan Featurees

Trump’s Trade War Against China: Opportunities and Risks for Central Asia

April 18, 2025
By Aliya Haidar

Experts believe that Central Asian countries stand to gain from U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed trade war with China, but the region also faces substantial risks.

Kazakhstan Bears the Brunt

On April 3, Trump signed an executive order imposing “reciprocal” customs duties on goods from dozens of countries. Kazakhstan faced the steepest tariff in Central Asia at 27%, while Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan each received a flat 10% rate.

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade explained that 92% of the country’s exports to the U.S., including crude oil, uranium, silver, and ferroalloys, were among the exempt categories listed in the order. As a result, only 4.8% of total exports to the U.S. would be affected. The government has announced its intent to hold consultations with Washington to avoid further tariffs.

More broadly, global economic uncertainty tied to the trade war may cause further weakening of national currencies across Central Asia. Declining demand for oil could depress prices, posing a particular threat to Kazakhstan, where oil is a primary export. On April 9, Trump announced a 90-day freeze on additional tariffs, applying a temporary 10% duty for more than 75 countries, excluding China.

Open Confrontation with Beijing

In a sharp escalation, the U.S. raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%. Beijing retaliated with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods, effectively halting trade. As the Chinese government noted, duties at this level “no longer make economic sense.”

On April 13, Trump, responding to pressure from the U.S. business community, reversed duties on processors, computers, smartphones, and electronics. According to Morgan Stanley, 87% of iPhones are made in China, and production of the upcoming iPhone 17 will also be based there. Additionally, four out of five iPads and 60% of Macs are manufactured in China.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged European nations to resist what he described as Trump’s erratic trade policies.

Central Asia: Strategic Position, Mixed Prospects

With Chinese goods effectively shut out of the U.S. market, Beijing is likely to turn to alternative trade routes. While Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam and Malaysia benefitted during the 2018-2019 trade war, this time Trump has also targeted some of them with tariffs, fearing rerouted exports.

China’s growing pivot toward Eurasia places the Central Asian countries at a critical transit junction. Their strategic position on land routes to Europe offers untapped potential for trade reorientation.

Kyrgyzstan, in particular, has served as a conduit for Chinese goods, with Chinese-manufactured items re-labeled as Kyrgyz products before entering markets across the CIS. This practice, noted as early as 2015, primarily catered to Russia but also extended to Kazakhstan.

More recent findings indicate that illegal Chinese imports into Central Asia may total billions of dollars. The existing smuggling infrastructure could be formalized and scaled, facilitating increased regional trade.

Long-term benefits could include heightened cargo traffic through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, sparking Chinese investment in logistics infrastructure and creating jobs in transport.

Risks of Overreliance

The trade conflict may also incentivize some Chinese manufacturers to relocate assembly operations to neighboring countries with preferential trade access. If these ventures meet local value-added criteria, they could potentially avoid U.S. tariffs. Chinese firms are already exploring joint ventures in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to enter Eurasian and European markets.

Meanwhile, Chinese products continue to dominate Central Asian markets, spanning textiles, electronics, industrial equipment, and more. If Western access shrinks further, Chinese producers may increasingly flood regional markets with inexpensive goods.

While this could help manage inflation, it would also undercut local industries. For instance, textile and footwear manufacturers in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan may struggle to compete with cheaper imports.

Moreover, Central Asia risks growing economically dependent on China. Closer economic integration may also invite backlash from Washington, including the threat of sanctions.

14 Apr 2025

Home, Tajikistan Justice, Justice, Tajikistan, Tajikistan Features, Tajikistan Home, Features

Complaint against Tajik Officials Filed with International Criminal Court

June 27, 2025
By Bruce Pannier

For many years now, Tajikistan’s government has been ruling the country as it wishes and ignoring all criticism of the many rights violations being committed in Tajikistan.

On April 10, two NGOs — the Ukrainian Fund of International Volunteers and Freedom for Eurasia — and the banned Tajik opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) filed a complaint with the international Criminal Court (ICC).

The complaint accuses Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and his government of committing crimes against humanity.

IRPT leader Muhiddin Kabiri said, “We hope the (ICC), (after considering) our complaint, will begin procedures for opening a criminal case and arresting the perpetrators, including the top leadership of Tajikistan.”

A Big Problem That’s Getting Worse

Evidence provided in the complaint covers the period from 2002 to 2024, but events only in the last few years tell the story of the impunity with which Tajik authorities have acted toward their citizens inside and outside Tajikistan.

In May 2022, the Tajik government responded to peaceful protests in eastern Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) by implementing a counter-terrorism operation that saw dozens, at least, of locals killed, and hundreds detained.

Tajik authorities arrested people who were not involved in the protests: lawyers, activists, artists, and journalists. More than a dozen Pamiris were detained in Russia and forcibly deported back to Tajikistan where they were immediately detained and soon after, convicted and imprisoned.

GBAO is home to the Pamiris, a group of more than 200,000 who have been living in the remote Pamir Mountains for centuries. They are Shiite Muslims, not Sunnis as most ethnic Tajiks are. Pamiris have their own languages and a unique culture.

GBAO has been a restive area since Tajikistan became independent in late 1991, mainly because the Pamiris prefer to govern their territory according to their own age-old customs and have been resistant to the government’s attempts to exert control over the region.

Less than three years since the counter-terrorism operation, Pamiri culture is in danger of disappearing. Pamiris are followers of the Aga Khan. During more than 30 years of Tajikistan’s independence, the recently deceased Aga Khan IV Prince Karim spent more than $1 billion on projects in GBAO, which is the poorest region in Tajikistan.

Since 2022, the government has seized or is currently trying to seize nearly everything the Aga Khan Development Network built or established in GBAO. The hotels, schools, including the University of Central Asia in the GBAO capital Khorog, a medical center, the park in Khorog, and other objects financed by the Aga Khan are all coming under state control. Locals are forbidden from having portraits of the Aga Khan in their homes.

Rahmon is preparing his eldest son, Rustam Emomali, to become Tajikistan’s next president. In advance of the widely-expected transfer of power, Rahmon has been clearing away any potential opposition.

The IRPT was banned and declared by a Tajik court to be an extremist group a decade ago, despite the party having been part of the government during the previous 18 years. The IPRT was part of a coalition of groups that fought against the government during Tajikistan’s 1992-1997 civil war.

Tajik authorities alleged a coup attempt by Tajikistan by the country’s deputy defense minister in September 2015 was connected to the IRPT. The party had already had its registration canceled and following the reported failed coup attempt, a court banned the IRPT’s activities and officially branded it an extremist group.

Fourteen top IRPT members who were in Tajikistan were arrested and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. One of those 14, Muhammadali Fayzmuhammad, died in prison in July 2024 at age 65.

No Hope for a Fair Trial

The trials of the IRPT were held behind closed doors, which has become the norm in Tajikistan. The government has justified these closed-door trials, saying that state secrets are being revealed as part of the proceedings.

The trials of the GBAO defendants, and at the start of 2025, the trials of eight people — former government officials and one rights lawyer, and the trial the lawyer’s niece, a journalist who reported on Tajik citizens’ attitude toward China — were also conducted behind closed doors. All were convicted.

Not guilty verdicts are rare in Tajikistan. A report in June 2022 said in more than 10,000 cases heard by Tajik courts in 2021, there were only 10 acquittals. In July 2022, the Chairman of Tajikistan’s Supreme Court Shermukhammad Shohiyon said in the first six months of the year there were 5,508 court cases and no acquittals.

Tajikistan has consistently ranked near the bottom in Freedom House’s annual Nations in Transit reports and Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Indexes.

Will the ICC Be Different?

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has issued several opinions in recent years that found violations in the detentions and convictions of people in Tajikistan, and called on Tajik authorities to immediately release these people. The Tajik government has not responded to any of the Working Group’s decisions.

Similarly, Tajik authorities ignore criticisms from international rights groups and individual governments about rights abuses.

IRPT leader Kabiri said the lawyers involved in preparing to complaint to the ICC spent four years collecting evidence.

Freedom for Eurasia said the acts documented in the complaint fall under several categories of crimes against humanity, including murders and extrajudicial executions, enslavement in penal institutions, torture, disappearances, persecution for political or religious reasons, and arbitrary detentions without a fair trial.

Freedom for Eurasia also noted “Tajikistan’s status as a Rome Statute signatory means the ICC has clear jurisdiction… ” and concluded its statement by saying, “In the face of the total absence of domestic remedies, the international route is the only hope for justice for the victims (in Tajikistan).”

14 Apr 2025

Tajikistan, Environment, Home, Tajikistan Home, Tajikistan Environment

Earthquake in Tajikistan Kills One Child, Damages About 30 Homes

April 14, 2025
By Times of Central Asia

A powerful earthquake struck Tajikistan on Sunday, killing a young child who was trapped under a wall, damaging about 30 houses and alarming people in parts of neighboring countries who felt the impact.

The epicenter of the quake was 25 kilometers east of Rasht, Tajikistan, at a depth of 12.6 kilometers, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre issued a similar report, saying the magnitude was 5.9 and citing the accounts of witnesses who said there was strong shaking in Dushanbe, the capital. The Rasht area is about 150 kilometers northeast of Dushanbe and lies on the border with Kyrgyzstan.

Disaster response authorities in Tajikistan identified the child who died as Abdugani Mashrabov, a resident of the rural village of Ushturpast, who was born in 2022. At least 29 residential buildings and a school were damaged in the quake, mostly in the Rasht area, according to preliminary information from the government.

The Rasht valley, which has picturesque landscapes of gorges and mountains, is relatively remote. It was an opposition stronghold during Tajikistan’s civil war in the 1990s and was the scene of intense fighting. More recently, development had been slowed by tensions between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan that sometimes spilled into violence, though a border agreement signed last month between the two countries could open the way to increased trade and transit.

14 Apr 2025

Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Local Politics, Kyrgyzstan Local Politics

Kyrgyzstan Tries Again to Compose a New Anthem

April 14, 2025
By Times of Central Asia

Kyrgyzstan’s national anthem, slated for an overhaul, isn’t going into retirement just yet.

Earlier this year, the government said it would hold a contest to select a new anthem to replace the one that was introduced in 1992, soon after Kyrgyzstan declared independence from the Soviet Union. But a state commission that met on April 9-10 to choose the best new text and music wasn’t satisfied with the options for replacing the old version, which was widely panned as hard to perform and more in tune with Soviet rather than contemporary times.

“Despite the diversity of the proposed projects and the active participation of citizens, the commission concluded that it had not found a work that fully met the content and artistic requirements for the national anthem as a state symbol,” the Ministry of Culture, Information and Youth said.

Another contest will be held, according to the ministry statement. People who participated in the first competition can do so again, but they’ll have to come up with something new. The selection committee wants projects reflecting “the historical memory, cultural heritage, development aspirations and national unity of the Kyrgyz people,” the ministry said.

A total of 285 anthem projects from 165 people had been registered in the first contest.

The chorus of the old anthem reaches for the spirit of a newly independent people, though whether Kyrgyzstan’s democratic aspirations are advancing or backsliding is in dispute these days:

“March on, O Kyrgyz folk,
March towards democracy!
Keep prospering, off we go,
In your hands lies your destiny!”

The country’s president Sadyr Japarov has said he favors a new anthem. In December, he signed a bill modifying the imagery on the national flag, another change aimed at modernizing the country’s national symbols. Some Kyrgyz citizens criticized the flag change as a rebranding exercise that distracted from the country’s more pressing issues.

12 Apr 2025

Home, Central Asia, Life & Culture, Kyrgyzstan Life & Culture, Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz Climber Ascends Annapurna on Same Day as Avalanche Disaster

April 13, 2025
By Times of Central Asia

The head of Kyrgyzstan’s mountaineering federation has climbed the Himalayan mountain of Annapurna, which has a reputation as a particularly dangerous climb because of the threat of avalanches and other factors. Two sherpas on a different team were swept away in an Annapurna avalanche on the same day, prompting a helicopter search for the missing men.

Eduard Kubatov reached the peak of Annapurna, which stands 8,091 meters above sea level, on April 7. He did so without supplementary oxygen, which made the ascent much harder. He recorded a video at a location that appeared to be below the summit, saying it was hard to film at minus 40 degrees and with strong winds at the top.

“Last night, our entire team safely descended from the summit, and today we officially announce the successful completion of the oxygen-free ascent of Annapurna!” Kubatov said in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

The Kyrgyz climber, who described Annapurna as “the most difficult and dangerous mountain in the world,” said in a later post that he was still at Annapurna base camp following the ascent.

“It snowed 20-30 cm at night, several snow and stone avalanches fell! Even base camp is not a safe place on this mountain! We all team walking from Annapurna to Pokhara. It will take about 25 km to the nearest village and 4-5 hours on jeeps to the city of Pokhara! Apparently we are going all day to get to civilization!” he said.

Seven Summit Treks, a Nepal-based trek and expedition operator, said it suffered a “terrible disaster” when two of its climbing sherpas, Ngima Tashi and Rima Rinje, were caught in an avalanche on April 7 while transporting oxygen cylinders for the summit push. It said it deployed a helicopter to look for them.

Annapurna “is considered one of the most challenging and dangerous mountains to climb due to its steep slopes, exposed routes and frequent avalanches and landslides that occur on the climbing route,” the company has said.

Kubatov was among several dozen climbers who reached the summit of Annapurna on the same day. Last year, Kubatov ascended the Himalayan mountains of Lhotse and Makalu, which are also more than 8,000 meters above sea level. He did so without oxygen cylinders in those climbs as well. He has previously climbed Everest, the world’s tallest mountain above sea level.

Kyrgyzstan has a strong mountaineering tradition, and several peaks in the Central Asian country are in the 7,000-meter range.