Asia-Plus: RSF призывает освободить Хакимову

Asia-Plus article dated 28 February 2025 reporting that Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on Tajikistan’s government to release journalist Рухшона Хакимова (Rukhshona Khakimova), who was sentenced to 8 years for state treason. The article reports that per RSF, Khakimova was arrested on 16 July 2024 near her home in Dushanbe without an arrest warrant and was questioned for about 12 hours without access to a lawyer; during her absence her house was searched and her professional equipment, passport, and bank cards were seized without an official warrant. The article reports RSF’s position that Khakimova’s case stems from a survey on Chinese influence and foreign assistance to Tajikistan that has not been published, that similar surveys commissioned by the same independent research institute were conducted in other Central Asian countries without legal consequences, and that no evidence demonstrates her work posed a threat to national security. The article quotes Жанна Кавелье (Zhanna Kavelier), head of RSF’s Central Asia desk, calling the process unlawful and the trial unfair, and stating the verdict demonstrates Tajik authorities’ determination to silence independent voices ahead of parliamentary elections. The article quotes Нуриддин Каршибоев (Nuriddin Karshiboyev), head of the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan, calling for the verdict to be appealed and the case reviewed. The article also references HRW Central Asia researcher Сиинат Султаналиева (Siinat Sultanalieva) and reports that, per RSF, at least nine journalists have been given lengthy sentences in Tajikistan in recent years under national-security or corruption pretexts. The article summarises Khakimova’s profile (31 years old, two young children aged 9 months and 2.5 years), the details of her charge (Article 305 part 2(v), complicity in state treason via official position), her house arrest since June 2024, and her awards including the Vohid Asrori Prize. Sources cited in the article: RSF’s own statement and press commentary.