DUSHANBE, February 23, 2016, Asia-Plus – A statement released by the Interior Ministry on February 23 notes that two merchants running shops at Dushanbe’s Korvon bazaar have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in terrorism but not for wearing a beard.

The merchants who were detained for involvement in terrorism and extremism intended to destabilize the political situation in the country, according to the statement.

The Interior Ministry refrained from giving further details of the case.

Meanwhile, the website, which is banned in Tajikistan, has released a report that two merchants from the Korvon bazaars were reportedly arrested for wearing a beard.

Thousands of men in Tajikistan have reportedly been arrested in recent years for wearing a beard.  Shaving beards is part of a government campaign fighting radicalism and targeting trends that are deemed “alien and inconsistent with Tajik culture.”

We will recall that in a report released at a news conference in Qurghon Teppa, the head of the Interior Ministry’s office for Khatlon province, Bahrom Sharifzoda, noted on January 19 that 12,818 men who “had overly long and unkempt beard” were “brought to order.”