Strasbourg 18.01.2024 MEPS strongly condemn the ongoing crackdown in Tajikistan against independent media, government critics, human rights activists and independent lawyers, and the closure of independent media and websites in Tajikistan.

They urge the authorities to stop persecuting lawyers defending government critics and journalists, immediately and unconditionally release those arbitrarily detained and drop all charges against them, including human rights lawyers Manuchehr Kholiknazarov and Buzurgmehr Yorov.

Parliament urges the Tajik Government to ensure that detainees have access to adequate health care and calls for a thorough investigation into allegations of mistreatment in custody, and the bringing to justice of those responsible. MEPs insist that the respect for freedom of expression in Tajikistan should be taken into account when assessing the application of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) and for the negotiations of a new EU-Tajikistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. They call on the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to increase support for civil society, human rights defenders and independent media workers in Tajikistan, including funding.

The text was adopted 481 votes in favour, 25 against with 26 abstentions.

Manuchehr Kholiknazarov is the Director of the Lawyers Association of Pamir (LAP), one of the few civil society organisations in Tajikistan’s Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) that works to promote and protect human rights. He has helped countless victims of human rights violations and strengthened rule of law and democratic structures in the GBAO. Furthermore, Kholiknazarov and his organisation had been working for many years to create a platform for dialogue between state bodies and civil society institutions, where the most pressing problems of the region, including in the field of human rights were discussed.

Buzurgmehr Yorov has been arbitrarily imprisoned since 28 September 2015 following a patently unfair trial on conviction of trial on charges of fraud, forging documents, insulting government representatives, disrespecting the court, and offending the Leader of the Nation – the President of Tajikistan. These charges, the ICJ believes, were used as a pretext due to his work representing politically disfavoured clients, such as 14 members of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT).

Tajikistan’s human rights record continued to deteriorate amid an ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression and the political opposition, as well as targeting of independent lawyers, journalists, and family members of opposition activists abroad. The government blocked access to websites that post information critical of the government and harassed human rights groups.