Civicus Monitor: TJ crackdown on dissent erosion civic space

The report states that the CIVICUS Monitor country update on Tajikistan, prepared by the International Partnership for Human Rights, documents severe suppression of fundamental freedoms, with authorities continuing to arrest journalists, activists and opposition figures on vague extremism charges and convict them in secret trials. The report states that Freedom House rates Tajikistan among the countries with the “lowest democracy scores” alongside Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Russia. The report states that on 2 March 2025 parliamentary and local elections were held under heavy restrictions, with limited media coverage and little genuine debate. The report states that press freedom continues to deteriorate, with Tajikistan falling to 155th of 180 in the 2024 RSF World Press Freedom Index, and that multiple journalists and lawyers were prosecuted during the reporting period, including Payk editor-in-chief Ahmad Ibrahim, journalist Rukhshona Khakimova (sentenced on 5 February 2025 to eight years on treason charges) and 74-year-old lawyer Faizi Oli (Faizali Yuldoshev), sentenced to 2.5 years. The report states that the Supreme Court in May 2024 published a list of 29 organizations designated as terrorist or extremist, including opposition parties IRPT and Group 24. The report states that new legislation limits personal freedoms, including restrictions on women’s clothing backed by a fatwa banning black, tight-fitting or transparent attire. The report states that civil society space in Gorno-Badakhshan has shrunk dramatically, with only 35 registered organizations remaining.