At least 50 inmates were killed in Tajik prison riot, sources say
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 13 November 2018 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, At least 50 inmates were killed in Tajik prison riot, sources say, 13 November 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5c34a74813.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
2018-11-13
By RFE/RL's Tajik Service
There has still been no official statement from the Tajik government about the riot at high-security prison No. 3/3.
DUSHANBE – At least 50 inmates were killed in a prison riot in Tajikistan last week, sources have told RFE/RL, doubling the death toll in violence that the government has said almost nothing about publicly.
The sources – officials in a state entity who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject – showed RFE/RL a list of at least 50 inmates they said were killed in the riot that erupted late on November 7.
An RFE/RL correspondent who was shown the list on November 12 was not permitted to take a picture of it.
Sources close to the government and law enforcement told RFE/RL earlier that at least 24 people, including two prison guards, were killed in the unrest at a prison in the northern city of Khujand.
Relatives of some of the inmates who were killed have told RFE/RL that their loved ones were being buried in the presence of police and security officers, without traditional Islamic funeral-prayer ceremonies.
They said family members were not being permitted to lift the shrouds wrapping the deceased.
The extremist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility, saying the riot broke out after one of its "soldiers" attacked a prison guard.
State-connected sources, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told RFE/RL on November 9 that suspected IS supporters convicted of religious extremism and terrorism were behind the unrest.
Almost six days after the violence, there was still no official statement from the Tajik government.
The local administration in Khujand – some 300 kilometers north of the capital, Dushanbe – has confirmed there was a riot but offered no further information.
The penitentiary – high-security prison No. 3/3 – largely houses inmates convicted on charges related to terrorism, extremism, and other serious crimes.
RFE/RL's sources have said many of the inmates there were convicted of membership or affiliation with groups that the Central Asian country's government has banned as extremist, including IS, Hizb ut-Tahrir, and others.
The government of authoritarian President Emomali Rahmon seeks to maintain firm control on religion in the impoverished, predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic of 8 million, allowing only approved forms of Islam.
The government says at least 1,000 Tajiks have traveled to Syria or Iraq to fight alongside IS.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
