The Prosecutor's office of the Sughd region opened cases against a resident of Buston and a minor resident of Khujand for spreading baseless information on social networks about cases of murders and robberies in the city of Kanibadam, as well as about allegedly noticed criminals in the cities of Khujand and Buston.
Prosecutor of Sughd region Furkat Khojazoda said at a press conference that in June, "when the society was in a panic because of the news about the mysterious murders in Kanibadam, these two spread unfounded information in Facebook and Instagram about the appearance of criminals in Khujand and Buston."
According to Furkat Khojazoda, a 35–year-old resident of Buston N.K., "spread false news in order to attract attention and increase the number of subscribers.
"A case has been initiated against him under article 374 (approx. 1) The Code of Administrative Offences of Tajikistan (provides for a fine of 10 to 20 indicators for calculations or administrative arrest for a period of 10 to 15 days), the prosecutor said. – Given the age of a resident of Khujand M.M., who is also accused of spreading false information on social networks, the case is open against his parents under Article 90 of the Administrative Code – "Failure to fulfill duties for the education and upbringing of a child" (provides for a fine of 15 to 20 indicators for calculations)."
Recall that since the beginning of spring, 15 members of 5 families have been killed in Kanibadam and the criminals have not yet been detained. Due to the lack of official information, the society was in a state of fear, rumors were spreading. A few months later, the Interior Ministry clarified the details of these incidents, stating that "there are no sensational incidents, these are ordinary murders."
This is not the first case of punishing citizens for "spreading unsubstantiated information." In April of this year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Dushanbe punished two residents of the capital for spreading false information about the abduction of a child and the removal of his organs.
