Ladies and gentlemen!

My father is a journalist. My father was sentenced to life imprisonment for his journalistic and political activities and is now in prison since seven years. During his activities, he was oft threatened by the security authorities, and once he was severely beaten and stayed in the hospital for several days. He was also tortured several times in prison. But he never turned away from his profession. My father is Mahmadali Hait and I am proud to have such a brave father.

Although I know how dangerous it is to be a journalist in our country and my father is paying the price for it, I am a journalist myself. Many times my family was under pressure because of my activities, but the facts in my country must be told and a journalist must not remain silent. Fake news is cheap and worthless, but real journalism is valuable and requires sacrifice.

Ladies and gentlemen!

After the brutal suppression of the opposition in 2015, the situation in Tajikistan worsened day by day. When Mr. Muhiddin Kabiri, who is now present in this hall, said that after the suppression of the main opposition, civil society will be targeted, no one took it seriously. Now, 7 years later, it has been proven that after the 2015 brutal crackdown, Tajikistan has lost almost all of its democratic achievements and has become a completely authoritarian and family-oriented country. This year, Tajikistan is on the 152nd place among 180 countries in the world list of freedom of expression (Reporters Without Borders), and since 2015, it has dropped 36 places in this list.

Look, when journalists like Abdullo Ghurbati, Daleri Emomali, Zavqibek Sayidamini, Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda, Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva and Mohammadi Sultan have been arrested all in 3 months and they are accused of collaborating with “terrorist organizations”, is there any freedom of speech left in this country? How is it different from North Korea? While these detained journalists did not write about political issues, they mostly raised social issues and sometimes criticized the Tajik opposition abroad, but they were still accused of membership and cooperation with “terrorist organizations”.

In the end, I would like to say that this situation in Tajikistan has a negative impact on the region and the civilized world, and if this situation does not change, perhaps it will be too late.

Thank you for your attention!

Firuzi Mahmadali at the OSCE/ODIHR conference, 09/29/2022. Warsaw