Novastan: TJ ethnic cleansing repression in Pamirs

Novastan article dated 27 November 2022, originally published on Novastan’s French website on 19 November 2022, describes the repression of Pamiris in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). The report states that since the May 2022 events, Tajikistan has suffered an unprecedented wave of repression, with dozens sentenced to years of imprisonment and wounded detainees reportedly tortured after arrest. It states that members of “Commission 44,” originally established in November 1991 to mediate dialogue between government and citizens, have been arrested and two sentenced to 18 years in prison. The article states that arrests also target non-political Pamiris, including peaceful businessmen, and cites Bakhtiyor Safarov of Central Asian Consulting saying operations aim to destroy the community and its culture. It states the Vazirbekov brothers, Oraz and Ramzi, disappeared on 29 June at Domodedovo airport in Moscow and reappeared in Dushanbe, later sentenced to 16 and 13 years, and that Russia complies with extradition requests despite some of those concerned holding Russian nationality. The article states journalist and activist Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, arrested on 18 May, faces 15 years in prison. It states religious persecution is occurring because Pamiris are Ismaili Shiites: religious instruction was interrupted after the May events, the Ismaili centre in Dushanbe was closed on 6 September, and Aga Khan Foundation activities have been severely restricted. It states Genocide Watch has assessed Tajikistan’s persecution of the Pamiri minority at stage eight of ten progressive stages of genocide.