DUSHANBE, September 23, 2015, Asia-Plus – The video-sharing website,
YouTube
, and social networking sites
Facebook
and
Odnoklassniki
, are available in Tajikistan again.
Meanwhile, access to the website of
Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service
remains restricted.
YouTube and Facebook became inaccessible via many Internet service providers (ISPs) in Tajikistan on August 25. Internet users across the country had been able to open the websites only via proxies.
Asomuddin Atoyev, the chairman of Tajikistan”s Association of Internet Service Providers, told
RFE/RL
on August 25 that access to the sites was being blocked by some Internet service providers based on an order by the State Communications Service.
A source at Tajikistan”s State Communication Service confirmed to RFE/RL that the Internet providers were instructed to limit the two websites” accessibility. No reasons were provided.
Tajik authorities have long been criticized for randomly blocking Google services, YouTube, Facebook, and other popular social networks.
Such government action has almost always coincided with online activities of opposition groups or events tied to social and political events in the country.
