BISHKEK — The Kyrgyz National Security Service (UKK) has interrupted the screening of an Australian documentary about a prominent Uyghur rights activist at the fourth annual One World Film Festival in Bishkek, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reports.

«The 10 Conditions of Love» is about the life and activities of Rebiya Kadeer, who is from China’s northwestern Xinjiang Province. Kadeer, who lives in exile in the United States, is also the chairwoman of the World Uyghur Congress.

UKK officers entered the hall of the History Museum where the documentary was being shown and demanded it be halted.

The officers said that they were implementing a written directive signed by presidential office head Emil Kaptagaev. They did not show the directive to the festival coordinators.

The presidential office refused to comment.

After the UKK officers left the building, the rest of the movie was shown to the audience, said Aida Baijumanova, deputy head of the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, the main organizer of the festival.

The One World Film Festival originated in Prague. It has been held in Bishkek and other Kyrgyz cities since 2007.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Kyrgyz_Security_Service_Disrupts_Human_Rights_Film_Festival/2167594.htm

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has voiced alarm over the treatment of journalists in Uzbekistan.

The OSCE’s freedom of the media representative, Dunja Mijatovic, said in a statement that she is «alarmed by the unrelenting judicial pressure exerted upon independent journalists in Uzbekistan.»

Writing to the Uzbek foreign minister, Vladimir Norov, Mijatovic expressed concern for two journalists, Abdumalik Boboyev and Vladimir Berezovski, prosecuted for alleged libel.

Mijatovic also expressed concern about three other journalists — Dilmurod Saiid, Solijon Abdurahmanov, and Hairullo Khamidov — who are currently serving jail sentences of between six and 12 1/2 years.

In her letter to the Uzbek foreign minister, Mijatovic wrote that «non state-media in Uzbekistan continue to be the target of unrelenting judicial harassment and this is a matter of serious concern to me.»

— RFE/RL Central Newsroom

http://www.rferl.org/content/OSCE_Criticizes_Uzbek_Treatment_Of_Journalists/2167187.html

A branch of the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP) in the southern Tajik city of Kulob has complained that authorities are pressuring women who wear the hijab, the Islamic head scarf.

Local IRP leader Mahmadsharif Nabiev suggests that the harassment began after a visit to the region last month by President Emomali Rahmon.

Rahmon was reportedly heard to make disparaging comments about women in «Islamic clothing» in Kulob.

Since then, Nabiev says, several local officials have tried to ban women wearing Islamic dress from schools, universities, and even from working in the local bazaar.

Nabiev says women have asked his party to champion their right to dress as they choose.

He also says that in meetings with locals in southern Kulob on August 23, Rahmon urged parents to bring their children back from Islamic schools (madrasahs) abroad and advised women to wear Tajik national dress.

Nabiev says local officials and police misinterpreted Rahmon’s comments and have increased pressure on women who wear head scarves and other clothing viewed as Islamic.

On September 1, as students celebrated the start of the school year, Rahmon met with students in Dushanbe and repeated concerns that many young Tajik girls choose to wear Islamic clothing. He added that some parents send their children to public schools while others are sending their kids to madrasahs. Rahmon noted that «we are at a crossroads [on this issue] and so we have to choose which path to take.»

He also used tough language in describing the women who choose to wear head scarves, although an official transcript of his televised speech softened the language, likening such women to «black birds.»

Kulov resident Fotima Rahimova tells RFE/RL that her daughters were told not to wear head scarves and not to cover their hair or they would face fines of up to 500 somoni ($114). Rahimova adds that officials attributed their crackdown to Rahmon’s instructions.

Contacted by RFE/RL, Davlat Amirov, the Education Ministry’s Kulob branch director, can neither confirm nor deny that fines were handed out to people who wore Islamic clothes at schools and universities. But he stresses that the Tajik government and the Education Ministry mandated a uniform that should be worn at schools and universities, and he says authorities must enforce that regulation.

While a ban on the hijab at schools and universities is nothing new in Tajikistan, a ban of the hijab in bazaars and other markets would be.

Safarkhuja Qudratov, a merchant in the Kulob bazaar, confirms that local officials recently met with her and other female workers at the bazaar and instructed them not to wear Islamic clothes.

But Tohir Odinaev, the deputy head of Kulob’s main bazaar, says officials merely advised women to wear «national» clothes and did not say that anything is mandatory.

IRP members criticize the recent actions and say such polarizing approaches play into the hands of Islamic extremists.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajik_Pressure_Said_To_Be_Growing_Over_Islamic_Dress/2160501.html

Dozens of Tajik students, professors, and scholars were taken off a Tehran-bound plane at Dushanbe’s airport as they were traveling to Iran on various religious education programs, officials in Dushanbe have said.

Officials removed the group from the plane on September 4, but did not publicly comment on the issue until today.

Education Ministry officials said the authorities had acted because they did not have enough information about the aim of the trip to Iran.

Rajabali Sangov, head of the ministry’s department of international relations, told RFE/RL’s Tajik Service that the ministry received a vague letter from the Iranian Embassy in Dushanbe informing them that 71 Tajik students and professors, among others, were traveling to Iran to undergo short-term educational courses.

He said the letter came only the day before the group was planning to get on a flight to Tehran. Sangov said the ministry found out that none of the group had official permission from the relevant authorities to leave their studies or jobs to go abroad.

«If they were indeed going with educational programs, why didn’t they inform the Education Ministry about their plans?» Sangov asked.

«After all, the ministry is in charge of educational matters and projects in Tajikistan. Besides, most of them are students and teachers and they were going away at the beginning of the academic year,» he added.

«They should have informed education officials that they were going to be absent for some time. They were to spend one month in Iran, and we don’t know what exactly they would study there.»

‘Bring Them Home’

It’s not the first time Tajik officials have stopped students from traveling abroad to study at foreign religious schools.

Late last month, the ministry canceled its earlier decision to send 10 Tajik students to Pakistani madrasahs, citing «technical» reasons and a «lack of clarity» in their learning programs.

The moves came days after President Emomali Rahmon urged parents to remove their children from foreign madrasahs.
During a trip to southern Khatlon province shortly before the new academic year started, Rahmon said foreign madrasah graduates could pose security threats to the country.

«We have opened our own religious university, and we prepare our mullahs right here,» Rahmon said, and implored parents to bring any of their children studying abroad home, «otherwise the majority of them would turn into extremists and terrorists in five, 10 years time.»

«They don’t only study religion there,» the president said. «They will come back and create problems for the nation and government.»

Religious Renaissance

People in the predominantly Muslim country have attained considerable religious freedom since the collapse of communism nearly two decades ago.

Tens of thousands of mosques have been built, thousands of Muslims have been given an opportunity to perform the hajj pilgrimage each year, and major celebrations in the Islamic calendar have been approved by the government as public holidays.

At least 20 official Islamic madrasahs and an Islamic university operate in the country. In addition, hundreds more students attend religious schools in countries like Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

However, Rahmon’s secular government has come under criticism in recent years for restricting Islamic practices.

Security and law enforcement agencies have conducted raids on mosques and private houses to prevent mullahs from running unsanctioned religious classes. Officials have outlawed the Islamic head scarf, or hijab, in schools and public offices.

And this week, Tajikistan’s Council of Islamic Ulema, a pro-government independent religious body, urged imams not to call children and students for prayers in mosques.

The council insists its only aim is not to harm school attendance, as some prayers take place during school hours. Yet the call has outraged some imams, who say the authorities are unhappy with the steadily increasing number of children turning up for mosque prayers.

Importing Extremism?

The authorities have repeatedly highlighted the threat of extremism and terrorism posed by graduates of foreign religious schools, notably by those who attend unofficial madrasahs.

Authorities say officially 2,000 Tajiks are studying at foreign madrasahs through educational grants and quotas, and intergovernmental agreements.

But regional media estimate that several thousand more students have been sent privately to foreign religious schools. An estimated 4,000 Tajiks reportedly study in Pakistani madrasahs alone.

Tajikistan’s embassy in Islamabad has repeatedly expressed its concern that some of the students have ended up in underground schools run by extremist groups.

Tajikistan has banned a number of religious groups, including the Salafi movement, which the government claims is being run by foreign madrasah graduates with radical ideas.

Many such graduates, however, insist the authorities’ fears are baseless.

Dushanbe resident Said Muhammad Ghozi says he studied in a madrasah in Pakistan along with his four brothers in the 1990s. Now his sons and several of his nephews study at the same religious school.

«We didn’t study anything remotely radical there,» Ghozi said. «Our educational program solely focused on Islam and also on computer studies.»

Many others in Tajikistan, however, share the government’s concerns.

Abdullo Rahnamo, a Dushanbe-based analyst of religious and social issues, says that unfortunately, there have been real security threats posed by graduates of foreign schools, particularly those who attend underground schools, and promote the ideas of different religious sects upon their return.

RFE/RL’s Tajik Service contributed to this report

Farangis Najibullah, RFE/RL

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajiks_Stopped_From_Traveling_to_Iran_Pakistan_For_Religious_Courses/21

There’s an interesting post on neweurasia.net by Annasoltan about Turkmenistan banning a popular social-networking site, agent.mail.ru.

There’s uproar among the youth in Turkmenistan today after the government decided to ban the popular social networking site, agent.mail.ru. Currently, it’s inaccessible via both TM Cell and MTS (about whom I’ve reported before.) The website had eventually experienced a small surge in Turkmen users, especially young men and women who used it to get to know each other.

It’s an open secret that one of the main purposes of agent.mail.ru is dating. The site certainly facilitates meeting potential partners: just type in the city, gender, and age in the search engine, and within only a few seconds, voila! Lovely, smiling faces appear. You can even find young women in bikini shots or Odalisque poses — some as young as 16! Another big advantage is the availability of chat rooms, which are easy even for the less techno-savvy to use, and is cheaper in the long run than mobile phones.

Under President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, Turkmenistan has become the land of gestures. A statue is dismantled. The circus is allowed back in town. Internet for everyone, as long as you can afford the high prices and are in one of the few places that offers it. But substantively, Berdymukhammedov has not really differentiated himself from his more colorful predecessor, Turkmenbashi.

Perhaps the worrying part is here:

While the ban has been deplored by its users, it’s also been hailed by some older Turkmens (and non-users) as a welcome move. They have legitimate fears about the spread of child pornography and internet addiction. These are real problems, and exactly because the internet does not regulate itself, it’s reasonable that government must therefore do the regulation. They also see something else — a threat to traditions.

We’re going to see this more and more. Repressive governments using arguments about tradition (culture X isn’t compatible with the Internet) or populist crusades against pornography, to justify their Internet crackdowns.

According to Annasoltan’s post, while it doesn’t look like this ban was overtly because of political reasons, it is following a pattern: Facebook and YouTube have already been banned in Turkmenistan. Even though the site might have just been used for dating, it was a public space the government didn’t control — and they don’t like that. Although at least Annasoltan does say that already young Turkmens are turning to other social-networking sites.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Another_SocialNetworking_Site_Banned_In_Turkmenistan/2146645.html

For the first time in nearly two decades, Tajiks will be able to start their day by leafing through the pages of their own daily newspaper.

«Imruz News» (News Today), launched on Monday, is a fairly standard black-and-white, four-page newspaper that covers a broad range of issues — politics, economics, international news.

But the paper, in becoming the first Tajik daily to be published regularly since 1992, is turning modern convention on its head.

Dire financial straits wreaked havoc on many Soviet-era Tajik news publications following independence, forcing those that survived to become weeklies. Now, as media outlets worldwide struggle to reinvent themselves for an online future, «Imruz News» is taking a page from tradition and will come out five times a week.

As newspapers worldwide have killed their foreign bureaus, «Imruz News» has set up a network of correspondents placed in Tajikistan’s regions and far-flung places such as Washington, Tehran, Istanbul, as well former Soviet republics such as Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The opinion of Tajik media is that «Imruz News» won’t be struggling financially. Editors of the newspaper have said they are operating with a loan from Tajikistan’s Orienbank — controlled by Hasan Asadullozoda, a highly influential tycoon and brother-in-law of President Emomali Rahmon.
The choice of the editor in chief for the new daily, Rajabi Mirzo, was a pleasant surprise for many newspaper readers in the country. Mirzo enjoys a reputation as an experienced journalist and outspoken critic of the government and of president himself.

Mirzo’s own publication, «Ruzi Nav» (New Day), was closed down six years ago by authorities amid widespread criticism that its content had outraged officials.

Mirzo was unemployed for several years until he was offered the editor’s position at «Imruz» radio, another independent media organization widely linked to Orienbank.

Can «Imruz News,» with its experienced editor in chief and the alleged support of a powerful oligarch, be able to overcome all odds and reacquaint Tajiks with the daily newspaper?

To succeed, it will have to overcome a major obstacle that has doomed its predecessors.

First and foremost, as a daily, «Imruz News» must be able to reach its customers, well, daily. This is no easy task in Tajikistan, where the newspaper, like others, must depend on the Tajik postal service to distribute its product in the regions. The postal service, lacking funds, transport, and personnel, often takes weeks to get letters and publications to addressees.

As a result, newspapers have become a things of the past for many Tajik villagers, and considering that city dwellers have increasingly turned to the Internet for news, it’s hard to see how this daily will be able to deliver.

Farangis Najibullah, RFE/RL

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/Daily_Ambitions_Tajikistan_newspaper/2143514.html

I. I. PECULIARITIES OF POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL CLIMATE IN THE COUNTRY DEFINING THE FACTUAL SITUATION IN THE MEDIA

1. Public speeches and statements of superior officials defining the factual situation in the mass media

13 August
Abdurakhmon Abdumanonov, deputy chairman, State TV & Radio Committee under the government

The Persian service of BBC, referring to the deputy chairman of the Tajik State TV & Radio Committee reported that Tajikistan is likely to renew rebroadcasting of the Russian RTR-Planeta TV channel. The official, Abdurakhmon Abdumanonov said that the government is ready to consider this issue.

It is expected that the issue of the Russian rebroadcasting on the Tajik territory will be touched upon at the forthcoming meeting in Sochi.

The broadcasting of RTR-Planeta was terminated in early 2009 on the initiative of Dushanbe. The alleged reason was arrears of the Russian Unified TV and Radio Company – which RTR-Planeta is the part of – to the Tajik TV & Radio Committee’s technical unit.

In January, the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in his letter addressed to his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmon asked to assist in resuming the broadcasting of two Russian federal TV channels – ORT and RTR-Planeta.

2. Amendments to existing legislation and new draft laws aggravating media situation

10 August
All media, Dushanbe

“Tajik journalists should be more active in the discussion of the draft law “On printing and other mass media” in order to use the chance and improve the media legislation,” – says a statement signed by participants of a round table organized on 10 August in Dushanbe by the Tajik Union of Journalists and the National Association of Independent Mass Media (NANSMIT).

The draft law in question was developed by two parliamentarians – Olimjon Salimzoda and Akramsho Felaliev.

About 30 media professionals – both local and foreign – legal experts and diplomats accredited in Tajikistan took part in the meeting. They put forward a number of proposals to amend particular articles of the draft law. This set of suggestions will be passed to the parliament.

19 August
Jovid Mukim, professor, Tajik National University, Dushanbe

Professor of the Tajik National University Jovid Mukim in his article in the Millat weekly (#33, 18.08.2010) says that “the new draft law on the media is mainly rewritten from the old one”. The expert suggests amendments to particular articles of the law and to add new ones – concerning mainly the labor rights of media professionals and their social protection.

Mukim says that the rights of journalists are not duly protected, especially in private media. Ignoring the labor legislation, certain publishers do not provide their employees with annual leave; otherwise, journalists have only limited number of days for rest.

19 August
All media, Dushanbe

The Farazh weekly (#33, 18.08.2010) called on Tajik media professionals to join the discussion on the new draft of the media law. The Media Alliance of Tajikistan intends to develop an alternative draft law on the basis of proposals from the media community.

Kironsho Sharifzoda, chairman of the public organization “The Journalist” published his comments in Farazh sharing his thoughts about the concept of “the mass media”. The author says that the words “the mass media” came to Tajik language from Russian, and in many cases it is wrongly understood.

3. Factual situation in the media

27 August
Asia Plus weekly, Dushanbe

As of 30 August the Asia Plus weekly will be published twice a week – on Mondays and Thursdays. On Mondays the newspaper will be published under the title “Asia Plus Dushanbe”.

Marat Mamadshoev, editor of Asia Plus says that this initiative is the first step in an attempt to establish a daily newspaper. It should be noted that there have not been any dailies in Tajikistan since the early 1990-s.

However, such an attempt is not the first one; many publishers have undertaken similar things, but they all faced difficulties with dissemination of their products. The formerly existing network of newsstands has collapsed long ago; periodicals are mainly disseminated by private street vendors who come once a week to the central printing house in Dushanbe to pick up the new weeklies.

30 August
Imruz News, private newspaper, Dushanbe

Rajabi Mirzo, editor of a new Tajik newspaper “Imruz News” stated that from now on this periodical will be published on a daily basis.

Mirzo says that the new outlet is a commercial project, and, along with the main goal – to provide readers with news and analysis – the newspaper must bring profitable.

The editor noted that 80 percent of reporters working for the newspaper are young and new people making their first steps in the Tajik media environment. “They’ve studied a long while, gaining needful skills in different trainings, but now, these young people are oriented towards making a real daily media product”, — he added.

II. VIOLATION OF PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS

1. Denial of printing

5 August
Ozodagon, Paikon, SSSR, Millat, Borgohi Sukhan, Dushanbe

Umed Sattorov, manager of a printing house providing services to a number of private weeklies told their publishers that the printing equipment is out of whack, and the five newspapers – Ozodagon, Paikon, SSSR, Millat, Borgohi Sukhan – are unlikely to come off the press. (Asia Plus weekly, #31, 4.08.2010).

Eventually, the newspapers were timely printed, but the Tajik media shared a different allegation – the printing house received “an order from above” to create obstacles for the private weeklies, which criticize the government in their publications.

However, media and human rights organizations received no complaints from editors and publishers about violations of their rights.

2. Impediments to access to information

11 August
SSSR weekly, Dushanbe

Private printing media in Khatlon province complain that government officials do not invite their correspondents to important public and political events, thus giving “drawing a line” between the state and the non-government press.

According to the SSSR weekly (#32, 12.08.2010), journalists addressed their complaint to the chairman of Khatlon province Gaibullo Avzalov. The official ordered his subordinates to rectify the error, but the situation remains unchanged. The authorities do not like the independent media for criticism. Long ago, they’ve dubbed them “the opposition”, and everywhere they are seen as spies.

III. CONFLICTS. VIOLATIONS INCRIMINATED TO THE MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS

1. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation

11 August
Embassy of Uzbekistan in Dushanbe

The Embassy of Uzbekistan in Dushanbe accuses Tajik officials and certain mass media of disseminating ungrounded and false statements defaming the authorities of Uzbekistan allegedly involved in the detention of Tajikistan-bound cargoes on the Uzbek territory. (Asia Plus, #32, 11.08.2010).

“The facts prove that Uzbekistan continues to take all necessary measures ensuring unhampered transit of cargoes moving to Tajikistan. The Uzbek side fully performs its obligations, despite the difficulties emerging at particular segments of the railroad and the objective complexities related to maintenance, servicing and repair”, — the statement says.

2. Compensation for moral damage

20 August
Asia Plus weekly, Dushanbe

Ms. Salomatv Safarova took a legal action against the Asia Plus weekly demanding moral compensation in the amount of 12 thousand Somoni (about $2,700). Safarova complains that Asia Plus defamed the name of her son in a publication titled “Hunting the money changers” (#30, 30.09.09).

Editor of Asia Plus Marat Mamadshoev told NANSMIT that his newspaper has lodged a complaint against the judge S. Bobobekov because of his preconception.

3. Accusation of libel and insult

19 August
Charkhi Gardun weekly, Dushanbe

Former parliamentarian Saivali Nurov filed a charge against the Charkhi Gardun weekly (Asia Plus, #33, 18.08.2010). Nuriov was very angry at the article published on 27 July titled “Are they going to sue the parliamentarian-hooligan?” The former deputy says that the publication defames and humiliates him. He is going to put the law on the weekly on Articles 135 and 136 of the Tajik Criminal Code.

According to Akbarali Sattorov, the founder of Charkhi Gardun, the publication in question does not contain any libel or defamation. “The article only describes the fact of filing a charge against the former parliamentarian”, — he said.

This report is based on compiled materials from the media and private information presented by correspondents of the NANSMIT Monitoring Network

Coordinator of the Monitoring Service
Abdufattokh Vokhidov

Project Manager
Nuriddin Karshibaev

A major international manhunt is under way after dozens of enemies of the Tajik state broke out from prison this week, but you wouldn’t know it from the official reaction.

Among the 25 men who escaped from a high-security State Security Ministry prison on the night of August 22-23 were Tajiks convicted of planning to overthrow the government. Others had been imprisoned for terrorist and Islamic militant activities. Eleven were foreigners, including Uzbek, Afghan, and Russian citizens of North Caucasus origin.

The prison break was carried out within sight of the presidential palace and left one guard dead and another beaten up. Just hours later, in a prison belonging to the Justice Ministry within the same walled complex, four guards were killed in a firefight with the escapees.

The brazen escape has led the authorities to dispatch additional troops in an attempt to catch the fugitives before they can leave the country. Their presumed destination is Afghanistan, where some of the escapees reportedly spent time in the 1990s.
The escape has attracted the attention of outsiders, with Russia’s Federal Security Service agreeing on August 25 to help with the search operation, and Tajik authorities requesting help from Interpol and neighboring countries. Kyrgyzstan has responded by strengthening security measures along the Tajik border.

And inside the country, as Tajiks question how such a bold maneuver could be carried out without inside help, the Prosecutor-General’s Office has opened a criminal investigation and discussed whether to press charges against prison officials.

But while the escape might appear to be too close for comfort for Emomali Rahmon, the Tajik president has gone about business as usual.

On August 25, Rahmon went ahead with a scheduled trip to the southern Khatlon region, opening new schools and discussing education. And during his numerous meetings with local people, Rahmon made no mention of the escape that is on the minds of so many in Tajikistan.

High-Profile Prisoners

Upon hearing news of the prison break, speculation was rife in Dushanbe that family members of two high-profile men with ties to the government were involved.

One of these central figures is the former chief of the presidential government, Ghaffor Mirzoev, a onetime Rahmon ally who is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence on charges including uprising against the government.

The second is Mirzo Ziyoev, a former Islamic opposition commander who went on to join the government as emergency situations minister and who was killed during a mysterious military operation in the eastern Tavildara district in 2009.

The Tajik government has since provided clarity by releasing a list of the 25 wanted men and their pictures. The list indeed included the names of a brother of Mirzoev and an uncle and brother of Ziyoev. However, Mirzoev himself and two of Ziyoev’s sons who were sentenced to long prison terms in separate cases this year were not on the list.
Many of the fugitives, including Hikmat Azizov and Juma Ibrohimov, are believed to be loyal allies of Ziyoev who fought alongside him against the secular government during Tajikistan’s 1992-97 civil war.

The whereabouts of the men is unknown and details of the break sparse, with government officials reluctant to disclose any details that could hinder the ongoing investigation and search operations.

However, it is known that at least seven security checkpoints have been set up on the highway connecting the Tajik capital and the northern province of Sughd.

And RFE/RL’s Tajik Service has reported that government troops have been dispatched to the Rasht Valley, including the Tavildara district, a onetime stronghold of the Islamic opposition and birthplace of many of the fugitives.

RFE/RL’s correspondent in Rasht, Mahmud Shodi, reports that a search operation for the escaped convicts is taking place in the area, and is causing panic and fueling speculation among locals.

Challenge To Government

The “prison break of the century” is also a hot topic among insiders and experts on Tajikistan.

”Under the current circumstances in Tajikistan, it is very difficult for these men to unite under one specific aim and cause trouble for the government,” says Davlati Usmon, a former member of the Islamic opposition and former presidential candidate. “It’s very difficult but not impossible. The government, too, is concerned that they would create serious problems for authorities.”

Parviz Mullojonov, a Dushanbe-based political expert, suggests that the fugitives “have no clear support base in Tajikistan now, therefore it would be impossible for them to destabilize the country,” but that this could change if they “and other forces who oppose the government decided to cooperate.”

Andrei Grozin, the head of the Central Asian department at the Moscow-based Institute of CIS Countries, suggests that the escape puts the spotlight on widespread corruption in the Tajik prison system. Grozin does not rule out that “someone from very high position” could have been involved.

…And Serious Signal To President

Tajikistan’s security service is largely filled with people loyal to Rahmon. Many of the highest positions are held by people from the president’s native south.

But Usmon says this incident is a serious warning to the president to review his security policies.

Whatever the reason behind the prison break—corruption or the incompetence of current security officials—the president can no longer rely on these people, Usmon says.

”It’s time for the president to change his criteria for selecting security officials, and it better be based on professionalism.”

RFE/RL’s Tajik Service contributed to this report

Farangis Najibullah, RFE/RL

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajikistans_Official_Calm_Belies_Potential_Prison_Break_Crisis/2138513.