Tajik authorities should immediately provide information on the whereabouts of journalist Zavqibek Saidamini and blogger Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda and ensure they are released from custody at once, says a statement released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on July 14.
The statement says that according to multiple reports by Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, plainclothes law enforcement officers detained Saidamini in Dushanbe on the evening of July 8.
The officers reportedly took Saidamini to the Interior Ministry’s Organized Crime Control Department (OCCD) in the Vahdat Township, and the journalist has not been seen or heard from since.
On July 9, OCCD officers in Vahdat summoned Pirmuhammadzoda in a follow-up from a previous session of questioning; he responded to their summons and also has not been seen since, according to reports by RFE/RL’ Tajik Service and the journalist’s brother, Abdukarim Pirmuhammadzoda, who reportedly spoke to CPJ by messaging app.
An OCCD officer told Pirmuhammadzoda’s family that he was placed under arrest for 10 days without telling them why, the journalist’s brother said, adding that the Dushanbe police denied that the journalist had been arrested.
According to the statement, Saidamini publishes commentary and reporting on his YouTube channels, which have a total of about 15,000 subscribers. His recent videos reportedly cover topics including border conflicts with Kyrgyzstan, religion, and allegations of unlawful military drafting practices.
Pirmuhammadzoda publishes his personal views on free speech and alleged government injustices on his YouTube channel, where he has about 39,000 subscribers, says the statement.
Both Saidamini and Pirmuhammadzoda worked with bloggers Daler Imomali and Abdullo Ghurbati who were detained on June 15, and have published calls for their release, according to those news reports and CPJ’s review of their output.
“Tajik authorities’ failure to provide information on the whereabouts of Zavqibek Saidamini and Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda is wholly unacceptable and a further sign of their blatant disregard for the law while attempting to stifle discussion of inconvenient topics,” Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said in a July 14 statement. “Authorities should immediately disclose Saidamini and Pirmuhammadzoda’s whereabouts and release them without delay.”
Saidamini reportedly worked as an editor and presenter at the state broadcaster Tajikistan Television until 2019, when he quit as he felt unable to report freely, Abdumalik Qodirov, secretary-general of the independent advocacy group Media Alliance of Tajikistan, told CPJ by messaging app.
Pirmuhammadzoda worked at the state-owned radio station Sadoi Dushanbe (Voice of Dushanbe) until 2019, when he quit after being given the choice between moderating his critical reporting and resigning, his brother said.
CPJ reportedly emailed the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan for comment, but did not receive any reply.
