DUSHANBE, April 20, 2013, Asia-Plus — On April 19, 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry submitted the 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (commonly known as the Human Rights Reports) to the United States Congress.
The report in particular, notes that Tajikistan is an authoritarian state that President Emomali Rahmon and his supporters, drawn mainly from one region of the country, dominated politically.
According to the report, the country’s constitution provides for a multiparty political system, but in practice the government obstructed political pluralism.
The document states that the most significant human rights problems included torture and abuse of detainees and other persons by security forces, restrictions on freedoms of expression and the free flow of information, including the repetitive blockage of several independent news and social networking Web sites, the erosion of religious freedom; and violence and discrimination against women.
Other human rights problems included arbitrary arrest; denial of the right to a fair trial; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; prohibition of international monitor access to prisons; limitations on children’s religious education; corruption; and trafficking in persons, including sex and labor trafficking.
Officials in the security services and elsewhere in the government acted with impunity. There were very few prosecutions of government officials for human rights abuses.
The report says official impunity continued to be a serious problem. While authorities took steps to hold perpetrators accountable, torture and mistreatment of prisoners continued, and the culture of impunity and corruption weakened investigations and prosecutions.
Low wages for judges and prosecutors reportedly left them vulnerable to bribery, which was a common practice. Government officials subjected judges to political influence.
The law provides for freedom of speech and press, but in practice the government restricted these rights. In 2012, the authorities continued to curb freedom of speech through detentions, prosecutions, and the threat of heavy fines. By law a person can be imprisoned for as long as five years for insulting the president.
There were new and continuing government restrictions on access to Internet Web sites. According to the Association of Internet Service Providers of Tajikistan, approximately 20 Web pages were blocked for criticizing the government. Other reports suggest that an estimated 50 Web sites were blocked during the year.
There was an increase in small-scale demonstrations related to economic problems, land reform, electricity shortages, and corruption of local officials. The violent incidents in Khorog in July led to public protest in the GBAO demanding that the government withdraw forces from the area.
The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, but the government did not implement the law effectively. Officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Corruption, nepotism, and regional hiring bias were pervasive at all levels of government.
