This past week, Daler Imomali, one of the four recently-detained journalists, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, The president of Tajikistan met with Secretary General of the CSTO Stanislav Zas and discussed Tajikistan's cooperation with the CSTO where he spoke about the need to develop new and innovative approaches to jointly combat terrorism, the spread of extremist ideology and religious extremism, The heads of the border departments of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan stated that the situation on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border is assessed as stable, The "Rubezh-2022" exercise of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces (CRDF) of the CSTO member states of the Central Asian region (CAR) was completed in Tajikistan, and the Tajik leader congratulated Xi Jinping on his re-election as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Image source: Eurasianet
On October 17, Daler Imomali, a well-known Tajik journalist and blogger who raised social problems and pointed out the shortcomings of the officials in his reports, was sentenced to 10 years in prison (Radio Ozodi, Radio Ozodi, Asia Plus). The journalist is accused of not paying taxes from his publications on YouTube. Following a complaint from a high-ranking official, Daler Imomali was accused of providing knowingly false information about a crime. He was also accused of collaborating with the "Group 24" political movement, which is banned in Tajikistan. However, the leaders of the movement stated that Daler Imomali has never been a member and has not had any cooperation with them. In the past three months, seven bloggers and journalists have been arrested in Tajikistan. International human rights organizations, including the OSCE, have condemned the detention of journalists and called on the Tajik authorities to comply with their international obligations in the field of freedom of speech and to stop harassing, threatening, and pressuring journalists. Dushanbe has not responded to these calls.
On October 18, Tajik leader Emomali Rahmon held a meeting with Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Stanislav Zas in Dushanbe during a high-level international conference on "International and Regional Border Security and Border Control Cooperation to Combat Terrorism and Prevent the Movement of Terrorists” (SNG Today, Asia Plus). During the meeting, the two sides discussed Tajikistan's cooperation within the CSTO, the organization's current tasks, and current topics on the regional and international agenda: the complex military and political situation in the region and the world, as well as the need to strengthen the capacity to protect the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. They expressed their readiness to cooperate in strengthening the fight against terrorism, extremism, illicit trafficking of weapons and drugs, and cybercrime. Emomali Rahmon called CSTO activities an important factor in ensuring security and stability in the region.
On October 21, the heads of Tajik and Kyrgyz border guard agencies announced that the situation on the Tajik-Kyrgyz state border, where a major armed conflict occurred a month ago, is now considered stable (Radio Ozodi). Colonel General Rajabali Rahmonali and Major General Ularbek Sharsheev, heads of the border agencies of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, noted the need to strengthen timely measures to de-escalate the situation on the border and the strict observance of the conduct of border guards of the two countries. They stated that it is the sole prerogative of the intergovernmental commissions on border delimitation and demarcation to decide the issue of determining the state border. In this regard, they called on the media to "strictly refrain from making any comments and from spreading statements and interpretations of events that could lead to an escalation of the conflict and incitement of enmity between the two nations".
The length of the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is 970 kilometers, of which only 519 kilometers have been demarcated. Porous areas often cause clashes and conflicts and during the armed conflict that took place on September 14-17 this year on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border, over 100 people were killed on both sides.
The joint military exercise "Rubezh - 2022" with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian region of collective security took place on the territory of Tajikistan from 10 to 21 October (CSTO, Asia Plus). In the course of the training, practices included preparation and conduct of combat operations of collective forces to destroy illegal armed formations invading the territory of a CSTO member state. The total number of participants in Tajikistan amounted to about 1,000 people and more than 300 units of military and special equipment. The core of the Russian contingent consisted of servicemen of the Central Military District from the 201st Military Base. The main tasks of the CSTO are to take part in repelling external military aggression and conducting joint counter-terrorist operations.
In other news, the president of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon sent a telegram of congratulations to the President of the People's Republic of China, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping (Sputnik News). The head of the republic called Xi’s re-election a vivid confirmation of his high authority and the strong support of Chinese society for his policies. According to Rahmon, the partnership and friendship between the two countries will continue to steadily expand and deepen.
