Latest news with #EmomaliRakhmon
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tajikistan decriminalises 'liking' social media posts deemed extremist
ALMATY (Reuters) - Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon signed a law on Wednesday removing criminal liability for "liking" posts on social media containing material that publicly calls for terrorism or other serious crimes, his press service said. Official figures show more than 1,500 people have been jailed for liking and commenting on articles that the authorities consider extremist, including videos and posts by opposition figures. Tajikistan is a landlocked country of some 10 million people sandwiched between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China. Security officials there in recent months have been grappling with a string of militant attacks, some of whose perpetrators have professed support for Islamic State. In 2018, Tajik lawmakers passed amendments criminalising public justification of terrorism online, and authorities soon began prosecuting people for liking or reacting with emojis to posts or videos found to be supporting extremism. Those found guilty could be sent to prison for up to 15 years. Last year, Rakhmon, who has led Tajikistan since 1994, spoke out publicly against the prosecutions, saying they should be "put an end to", according to Tajik media.
Reuters
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Tajikistan decriminalises 'liking' social media posts deemed extremist
ALMATY, May 14 (Reuters) - Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon signed a law on Wednesday removing criminal liability for "liking" posts on social media containing material that publicly calls for terrorism or other serious crimes, his press service said. Official figures show more than 1,500 people have been jailed for liking and commenting on articles that the authorities consider extremist, including videos and posts by opposition figures. Tajikistan is a landlocked country of some 10 million people sandwiched between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China. Security officials there in recent months have been grappling with a string of militant attacks, some of whose perpetrators have professed support for Islamic State. In 2018, Tajik lawmakers passed amendments criminalising public justification of terrorism online, and authorities soon began prosecuting people for liking or reacting with emojis to posts or videos found to be supporting extremism. Those found guilty could be sent to prison for up to 15 years. Last year, Rakhmon, who has led Tajikistan since 1994, spoke out publicly against the prosecutions, saying they should be "put an end to", according to Tajik media.
Arab News
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Tajikistan to jail people for illegal electricity use
DUSHANBE: Tajikistan has introduced 10-year prison sentences for the illegal use of electricity, as a decades-long energy crisis caused by water shortages worsens in the poor Central Asian country. Electricity consumption in Tajikistan is limited for about six months per year, as its outdated energy infrastructure struggles to keep up with rising demand. The country's Energy and Water Resources Ministry on Saturday announced measures to introduce 'criminal liability for violations of regulations on the use of electricity.' In a sign of how tightly the country controls the press and flow of information, it was only reported by independent media outlets on Monday. Under the new rules, anybody found trying to disconnect or bypass an electricity meter will face up to 10 years in prison. Ex-Soviet Tajikistan is ruled by President Emomali Rakhmon, a former state farm boss who has held power since 1992. Justice Minister Rustam Shoemurod said earlier in April that those who alter meter readings or bypass them to avoid payments are 'seriously damaging the country's economic interests.' A shortage of water needed to fuel hydroelectric plants, which generate about 95 percent of electricity output in Tajikistan, has led to years of regular power outages.
Arab News
01-04-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Saudi Arabia welcomes Tajik-Kyrgyz-Uzbek border treaty and ‘eternal friendship' pledge
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday welcomed the border deal forged between Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on the Fergana Valley, a long-disputed region that has ignited bloody clashes. In a statement issued by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kingdom also congratulated the three Central Asian neighbors for signing a Khujand Declaration on Eternal Friendship, wishing them 'continued stability and prosperity.' Saudi Arabia has maintained deep ties with Central Asian countries, even hosting the GCC Central Asian Investment Forum 2024 in May last year. The border deal signed on Monday by presidents Emomali Rakhmon of Tajikistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan and Sadyr Japarov Kyrgyzstan, formalized the point where their countries' borders meet in the mountainous valley. The densely populated region has been the scene of numerous conflicts — mainly for control of water that is running out in a region badly hit by climate change. The three leaders met several days before an EU-Central Asia summit in Uzbekistan. Relations between the former Soviet republics, long strained by rivalries, have warmed recently. Borders in Central Asia were often drawn up under the Soviet Union and never properly demarcated. But in recent years, Central Asian countries have announced border agreements to regulate the sharing of water, facilitate trade and ensure the stability of this resource-rich region. In the Tajik city of Khujand, the three presidents also called in similar statements for 'reinforcing the cooperation between brotherly nations' — including in energy and transport. The Tajik and Kyrgyz leaders also inaugurated a section of a joint high-voltage line to supply Pakistan and Afghanistan with energy produced by Central Asian hydroelectric power stations. The summit follows the signing of border treaties in mid-March between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in 2023. (With AFP)
Khaleej Times
15-03-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
UAE welcomes border agreement by Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan
The UAE welcomed the agreement reached by Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to demarcate the border between the two countries, and affirmed its support for efforts aimed at promoting peace and prosperity. On Thursday, the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed a deal demarcating their shared frontier, seeking to end a long-running border conflict that has seen dozens killed in skirmishes in recent years. Disputes over the two countries' 970km shared border date from Soviet times, when Moscow first drew up frontiers in ethnically mixed parts of Central Asia. In a statement, the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its hope that this step will contribute to consolidating stability and constructive cooperation, and promoting development and peace at the regional and international levels, which will benefit the two friendly countries and peoples and serve their common interests. The deal, signed by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmon in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, also provided for the reopening of road, rail and air transport links between the two that had been suspended since the battles of September 2022. The Ministry affirmed that the UAE shares strong relations with the Republics of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and will support their efforts to promote peace, development, and stability in the region. The ministry emphasised the importance of peaceful dialogue as the only way to resolve conflicts.
