Tajikistan: End Systematic Repression of Pamiri People

We strongly condemn the recent unexplained deaths of at least four Pamiri activists in prison. Kulmamad Pallaev, 50 years old, died in January 2025, Aslan Gulobov, 35, died in June 2025, Muzaffar Davlatmirov, 61, died in June 2025 and Eronsho Mamadrahimov, 39, died in July 2025. They were denied basic medical assistance, leading to their death.

Human rights watchdogs have warned that poor detention conditions, problems with access to medical care in detention centres and deaths in custody are systemic issues in Tajikistan. Pamiri Indigenous Peoples make up less than three per cent of the total population in Tajikistan and reside in the GBAO, eastern Tajikistan.

Following peaceful protests in GBAO in November 2021 in response to an extrajudicial killing, Tajikistan initiated an unprecedented crackdown on Pamiris. Following renewed demonstrations in May 2022, the Tajik government reportedly killed approximately 40 Pamiris and arbitrarily detained 205 activists. In a globally unprecedented transnational repression, over 20 Pamiri activists have been forcibly returned from Russia to Tajikistan and given lengthy sentences. Internet access in the GBAO was cut off for more than 100 days. In 2022 and 2023, some 50,000 (or 25% of the population) Pamiri residents of GBAO fled the region. Thousands became refugees in Europe, the United States of America, and Canada.

In March 2025, the President of Tajikistan granted amnesty to 897 Tajik prisoners. The number did not include any of the arbitrarily detained Pamiris despite repeated international appeals. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) called out the detentions of Faromuz Irgashov, Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov, Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, Khursand Mamadshoev, and Sorbon Yunoev and demanded their immediate release.

We call for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained activists, including Khushruz Jumayev and Muzaffar Muborakshoev. We ask for the release of victims of the widespread transnational repression against Pamiris in Russia, Chorshanbe Chorshanbiev, Amriddin Alovatshoev, Oraz Vazirbekov and Ramzi Vazirbekov. The arbitrary detention is not limited to Pamiri activists, human rights defenders, and journalists. It also targets high-level government officials of Pamiri origins like Kholbash Kholbashev.

We strongly condemn the continuous targeted torture of Pamiri activists in detention. They are forced to confess to fabricated charges or implicate fellow activists living abroad. These abuses reportedly serve as retaliation for their past activism and as a reflection of broader discrimination based on their faith, language, and culture. We’re deeply worried about the worsening health of Pamiri detainees due to torture and continued denial of medical care.

Tajik authorities continue aggressively dismantling civic space in the country. They have shut down over 700 NGOs. The intensified targeted crackdown on Ismaili religious institutions and the Aga Khan Development Network’s entities is deeply concerning. This includes preventing religious ceremonies and banning Pamiris from participating in the Ismaili’s Global Encounters sports event under threat of prosecution. The linguistic and cultural rights of Pamiris have been eroded by the Tajik Government’s attempt to assimilate them. The government has denied their identity, including at the UN conferences. Pamiris are not allowed to learn and promote their native languages. Official usage and initiatives to preserve Pamiri languages are criminalised by the government. In March 2023, the CIVICUS Monitor downgraded Tajikistan’s civic space rating from ‘repressed’ to ‘closed’. This reflects a deeply concerning pattern of systematic persecution of Pamiris, with features that could constitute crimes against humanity under international law.

We call on the Government of Tajikistan to:

• Comply with its international obligations and immediately end the state-led, systematic repression of the Pamiris
• Unconditionally release the arbitrarily detained Pamiris, including the activists, human rights defenders, and journalists
• Immediately stop the systematic targeted torture of Pamiris and provide adequate medical assistance to the detainees in prison
• Restore the cultural and linguistic rights and protection of indigenous identity, including promoting Pamiri languages and freedom of religious expression

We call on all the UN Member States, the European Union, and international actors to:

• Establish a UN-mandated independent investigative mechanism to monitor, investigate, and promote accountability for grave human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings of Pamiris since 2021
• Use diplomatic, economic, and political leverage to compel Tajikistan to release all arbitrarily detained Pamiris, as ruled by the UN WGAD
• Call for immediate humanitarian access to detainees, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to assess detainees’ conditions and provide essential medical care
• Call on Russia and neighbouring states to not participate in the transnational repressions of Pamiris
• Demand the restoration of cultural and linguistic rights and protection of indigenous identity
• Suspend Tajikistan’s leadership role in global conferences on climate, water and glaciers, as it risks whitewashing ongoing human rights abuses
• Reinstate international monitoring mechanisms to prevent further repression
• Provide protection and humanitarian support to Pamiri refugees and asylum-seekers forced to flee persecution. Ensure non-refoulement and access to fair asylum procedures
• Cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the ongoing complaint filed against the Tajik Government for crimes against humanity
• Initiate targeted sanctions and travel bans against high-level Tajik officials involved in systematic state repression

Signed by

1. Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial Brussels
2. CIVICUS
3. International Communities Organisation
4. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
5. International Partnership for Human Rights
6. Ligue burndaise des droits de l’homme Iteka
7. Vuka! Coalition for Civic Engagement
8. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

Photo: “Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan” by Ninara, CC BY 2.0