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Tajikistan media throttled by state repression

Tajikistan’s media are in their worst state since President Emomali Rahmon emerged victorious from the violent years of the 1992-1997 civil war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, local journalists have told CPJ.

After three decades in power, Rahmon has established himself as an absolute ruler with no tolerance for dissent. His bid to centralize control includes efforts to silence political opponents, human rights activists, and independent voices. More than a decade ago, Tajikistan’s media environment was relatively diverse and allowed for some criticism and debate, as long as local media avoided reporting on the president and his extensive family.

Now, seven journalists are serving unprecedentedly harsh sentences ranging from seven to 20 years in prison in retaliation for their work, independent media are struggling to survive, and Tajik journalists told CPJ that they work in a climate of fear and self-censorship. “We don’t know who might be next,” one journalist said. “Journalists fear saying anything,” said another.

Most of the journalists who spoke to CPJ were pessimistic about the prospects for Tajik journalism in the near or mid-term future. “I see my mission as maintaining independent journalism – I can’t say in a good condition – but maintaining it at least to wait for better days,” Abdumalik Kadirov, head of the independent trade group Media Alliance of Tajikistan, told a CPJ representative who visited Tajikistan in late 2023.