Novastan: Recruitment in Tajik army hell for recruits

The report states that Tajikistan’s annual recruitment of young men for two years of compulsory military service is a major problem for the authorities because of widespread reluctance to serve, with many young men emigrating to avoid it. According to the report, citing Tajik outlet Asia-Plus, of around 300,000 young men of call-up age, 150,000 are deemed unfit for service and 100,000 are outside the country, leaving only 15,000-16,000 actually conscripted each year. The report notes that the process is marked by irregularities, including a “lottery” in Vakhsh to pick recruits and pressure on parents across the Sughd, Khatlon and Rasht Valley regions, and that a Khorog resident was reportedly sentenced to a year in prison in a conscription-related case. Citing the Tajik NGO No Torture, the report states that 59 cases of torture of military personnel were documented between 2014 and 2016, with 11 fatal, and that the Tajik government itself told the UN Human Rights Committee that more than 100 soldiers were killed between 2019 and 2021, mainly due to hazing. The report describes violent recruitment raids in which young men are bundled into unmarked cars, notes families being pressed to recall sons from Russia, and records that according to the Prosecutor General’s Office 108 young men were prosecuted for evading service in 2022 alone. It adds that Tajikistan fields only 15,000 active personnel, the lowest in Central Asia.