DUSHANBE, July 10, 2014, Asia-Plus — The popular video-sharing website YouTube has been partially blocked in Tajikistan again.
Asomuddin Atoyev, the head of the Association of Internet Service Providers of Tajikistan, says YouTube stopped being accessible via several Internet service providers (ISP) as of July 9.
According to him, ISPs Saturn Online, Babilon T, Megafon Tajikistan, Telecom Technology, Tcell and some others blocked access to YouTube following a verbal instruction from the communications service agency.
Meanwhile, the Communications Service under the Government of Tajikistan says it has nothing to do with the situation.
Alibek Beknazarov, the head of the informatization department at the national ISP Tajiktelecom, says the communications service agency has not requested that ISPs block YouTube. “For example I have Megafon and I am currently in Kulob and I have access to YouTube,” Beknazarov said.
We will recall that YouTube was partially blocked a month ago, on June 9, and it was unblocked on June 16.
In the past few years, Tajik authorities have blocked several online news and social-media websites but later unblocked them.
