Tajikistan
Маҳбусони сиёсӣ дар Тоҷикистон
56 documented cases
Tajikistan holds one of the most opaque political-prisoner populations in Central Asia. After authorities banned the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) as 'extremist' in September 2015, dozens of its leaders, members, and family members were imprisoned in closed trials, with several sentences exceeding twenty years. The opposition movement Group 24 was banned the previous year on similar grounds, and its members in exile have repeatedly been targeted abroad. Independent lawyers who took on these cases — including Buzurgmehr Yorov and Nuriddin Mahkamov — were themselves prosecuted and jailed.
A second sustained wave of detentions has come from Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), where security operations in 2021 and 2022 against the predominantly Pamiri population resulted in killings, mass arrests, and long prison sentences for civil-society leaders, journalists, and youth activists. Political Prisoner Watch aggregates verified case records from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the regional outlet Asia-Plus, translating them into English and standardizing the case taxonomy alongside other monitored countries.
Primary sources: Human Rights Watch, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Amnesty International — Tajikistan, Asia-Plus
An activist and member of the IRPT who has reportedly been subjected to torture in prison. He is part of a wider crackdown on peaceful opposition members in Tajikistan.
A high-ranking member of the Islamic Renaissance Party sentenced to 28 years in prison. The sentence was handed down as part of a purge of the party leadership.
A deputy of the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRPT) sentenced to life in prison. His detention is part of a wider crackdown on the political opposition in Tajikistan.
A high-ranking member of the Islamic Renaissance Party sentenced to 28 years in prison. The sentence was handed down as part of a purge of the party leadership.
40 of 56 cases are not yet plotted on the map, typically because the public source did not record a precise location.
Figures reflect documented cases in this database · a lower bound, not an official total