Media Diversity Institute: TJ cracks down on ethnic religious minority

Media Diversity Institute article by Dina Newman, dated 12 March 2024, examines discrimination against the Pamiri minority in Tajikistan. The report states that Pamiris live in a remote mountainous region bordering Afghanistan and China, differ from the Tajik-speaking Sunni majority in that they speak several related languages and follow Ismailism, a branch of Shia Islam. Former BBC correspondent Anora Sarkorova, an ethnic Pamiri, is quoted saying state media portray Pamiris as “separatists, terrorists and drug traffickers.” Journalist Temur Varki is cited explaining that the United Tajik Opposition of the 1990s civil war era included Sunni, Shia and secular parties, but was falsely labelled “Wahhabis” by the pro-Communist press. The article states that in 2022, despite UN warnings, Tajik authorities killed dozens of unarmed civilians in what they called an anti-terrorist operation, and that law enforcement has since targeted civil society with decades-long prison sentences after unfair trials. It states Ulfathonim Mamadshoeva, a 65-year-old human rights activist, was sentenced behind closed doors to 21 years after a televised “confession” contradicting her earlier denials. Varki is quoted saying innocent people were “grabbed in the street, raped and tortured,” and at least two released victims hanged themselves. The article also states the Gorno-Badakhshan region has no independent media, no media in local languages, and suffers regular internet blackouts, while Pamiri emigres in Russia and Turkey face deportation risks.