Tajikistan decriminalises 'liking' social media posts deemed extremist

Almaty: Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon signed a law on Wednesday removing criminal liability for "liking" posts on social media containing material that publicly calls for terrorism or other serious crimes, his press service said.

Official figures show more than 1,500 people have been jailed for liking and commenting on articles that the authorities consider extremist, including videos and posts by opposition figures.

Tajikistan is a landlocked country of some 10 million people sandwiched between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China. Security officials there in recent months have been grappling with a string of militant attacks, some of whose perpetrators have professed support for Islamic State.

In 2018, Tajik lawmakers passed amendments criminalising public justification of terrorism online, and authorities soon began prosecuting people for liking or reacting with emojis to posts or videos found to be supporting extremism. Those found guilty could be sent to prison for up to 15 years.

Last year, Rakhmon, who has led Tajikistan since 1994, spoke out publicly against the prosecutions, saying they should be "put an end to", according to Tajik media.