Tajik Justice Minister Says New Amnesty Freed 8,008 People; Officials Offer Few Details

Tajikistan’s Ministry of Justice has announced that, under a new amnesty law signed on June 16, a total of 8,008 people have been released from prisons in the country. The figure was provided by Muzaffar Ashuriyon, the country’s justice minister, in remarks to Radio Ozodi on July 21. Ashuriyon did not provide further breakdowns of who was released or the categories of offenses involved, saying only that the number represents those who had been sentenced to imprisonment.

The amnesty law, which came into force after being signed on June 16, is written to apply to as many as 18,000 people, according to official descriptions: that total is said to include both convicted prisoners and individuals whose cases remain under review. Authorities so far have not published detailed lists or criteria specifying which convictions or pending cases qualified for amnesty, leaving questions about the law’s scope and its potential impact on political prisoners, marginalised groups and people detained on minor or administrative charges.

The limited public information about the amnesty has raised concerns among rights observers and critics who have long called for greater transparency in Tajikistan’s criminal justice system. Independent verification of who benefited from the law or whether prisoners jailed on politically sensitive charges were released is not yet available. The lack of detailed disclosure from officials also makes it difficult to assess whether the measure reflected a broader policy change toward sentencing and detention or was a targeted one-off decision.

Separately, Tajik authorities are monitoring the case of a Tajik citizen detained in Israel on espionage charges. Israeli police and security services announced on July 2 that they had arrested a man described variously as a citizen of Tajikistan and Russia on suspicion of spying for Iran. Israeli prosecutors identified the man at arrest as Беҳрӯз Собирҷон and later referred to him as Беҳрӯз Шариф Додобоеви, 33, alleging he gathered information about missile impact sites, Haifa’s coastline and a military supplier, Elbit Systems, and transmitted it to Iranian intelligence in exchange for cryptocurrency. The Israeli prosecution says the man had been in contact with a foreign agent on multiple occasions and that his temporary residency in Israel had expired in May.

Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry has said it has sought confirmation of the detainee’s identity and citizenship “тавассути роҳҳои дипломатӣ” and is awaiting an official reply from Israeli authorities. The ministry’s press office told Radio Ozodi: "Ҳоло мунтазири посухи расмии ҷониби Исроил ҳастем. То ҳол нисбат ба дастгир шудани шаҳрванд ба мо ягон маълумоти расмӣ дастрас нагардидааст." Independent verification of the espionage allegations reported by Israeli authorities has not been possible.

The combined bulletin also reports humanitarian and socio-economic developments in the region. Afghan authorities under the Taliban said on July 20 that flash floods in Nuristan province had left 105 people missing and 11 bodies recovered, with independent Afghan outlets reporting higher tolls and naming local officials among the dead. Taliban province spokesman Faridun Samim told Radio Ozodi’s Afghan service that the floods caused significant material losses to local residents; social media videos circulated from the affected area show powerful floodwaters sweeping through residential districts. The Taliban’s meteorological service warned of additional heavy rain, storms and flooding across eastern and central provinces.

Domestically, Tajikistan’s Agency for Statistics reported an increase in officially registered unemployment: 57,000 people were listed as unemployed in May, a 10.5 percent rise compared with the same period a year earlier, the agency said. Women made up about 47 percent (27,000) of the registered unemployed. Officials noted that officially registered unemployment represents roughly 2 percent of the working-age population, a figure that opposition groups and analysts often dispute, citing large-scale labor migration as evidence that official statistics understate domestic economic problems. Jamshed Nurmuhammadzoda, the agency’s head, declined to provide a total figure for migrant workers and suggested such figures should be sought from the Labour and Migration Ministry, saying disclosure risks misinterpretation by some media.

The bulletin also details a local road accident: on July 19 a vehicle plunged into a canal near Hisor, killing two employees of Arvand Bank, identified by officials as Dilnoza Boymatova, 32, and Fakhriddin Vohidov, 37. Social media footage of the incident shows local residents attempting to rescue the vehicle’s occupants from the water.

Taken together, the items underscore a period in which Tajik authorities are implementing a major amnesty but have provided few public details, while also managing multiple domestic safety, economic and diplomatic challenges. Human rights advocates and independent media groups are likely to press for clearer disclosure about who the amnesty covered and whether it addresses longstanding concerns about arbitrary detention and the treatment of prisoners in Tajikistan.