DUSHANBE, December 10, 2015, Asia-Plus -- A new report by the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), Spotlight: Fundamental Rights in Central Asia, December 2015 , highlights ongoing and increasing efforts by the authorities in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan to stifle dissent and pluralism as part of a region-wide trend of shrinking space for independent voices.

According to the report, outspoken media and journalists are muzzled; websites featuring criticism of government policies are blocked; political opposition parties, NGOs, religious communities and independent trade unions are subjected to repressive measures; and civil society activists, lawyers and others who stand up for justice, rule of law and accountability are intimidated and harassed. (See more below in the summary of developments in each of the three countries).

The report is based on monitoring carried out by Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Nota Bene (Tajikistan) and Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights in their respective countries in August-November 2015. International Partnership for Human Rights (Belgium) has worked with these three organizations on the preparation of the report within the framework of a joint project, which is aimed at documenting and raising awareness of developments in the areas of freedom of expression, association and assembly, as well as non-discrimination and access to justice.

The report notes that the Tajikistani authorities have linked two armed attacks that took place in the capital Dushanbe and a nearby city in early September 2015 to the opposition Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), although this party has denied having anything to do with these events.  In the weeks following the attacks, the self-exiled IRPT chair was accused of masterminding the attacks, over 20 members were arrested on charges of involvement in the violence, and the IRPT was banned as an “extremist” organization.  This decision, in effect, marked an end to the era of political pluralism under the peace agreement that ended the 1997 civil war and set out a power sharing deal between the authorities and the opposition.

Tajikistan’s international partners responded with great concern to the measures taken against the IRPT and its representatives and emphasized that the Tajikistani authorities must comply with their international human rights obligations in the pursuit of national security, the report said.

In an alarming development, two lawyers defending the rights of arrested IRPT members were themselves arrested on charges of fraud – charges that have also previously been used against lawyers working on sensitive cases in the country.  Lawyers Buzurgmehr Yorov and Nuriddin Mahkamov were arrested in September and October 2015, respectively, and currently remain in detention.  Yet a third representative of the lawyer’s office where they have worked, Dilbar Dodajonova was arrested on fraud charges at the end of October.  International NGOs and other representatives of the international community have called for an end to the pattern of arresting lawyers on charges that appear to be motivated by the professional activities of these lawyers.

The report stresses that amendments to the recent Law on the Bar and the Practice of Law, which were adopted in November 2015, have reinforced concerns that this legislation is threatening the independence of the legal profession in the country.  In order to practice law, all lawyers will now be required to pass a qualification exam administered by a non-independent body under the Ministry of Justice, as well as to undergo re-certification with this body every five years.  Individuals with a criminal record will not be eligible to work as lawyers.  While all lawyers also will be required to join a new nation-wide bar association, this association has yet to be registered by the Ministry of Justice, which has given rise to concerns that already practicing lawyers will not have much time to comply with the requirements of the new law within the deadline that expires in late March 2016.

As part of a trend of arbitrary restrictions of internet and cell phone services, new cases of blocking of news and social media sites, as well as text messaging services have been reported in recent months.  As on previous occasions, providers have indicated receiving informal orders from the government’s Communications Service to implement such measures.  Amendments to the legislation on counteracting terrorism adopted by the lower house of the parliament in late November 2015 grant security services new broad powers to restrict internet and phone access during anti-terrorism operations, thus creating a legal basis for a problematic practice that has already been repeatedly used.

The criticized amendments to the Law on Public Associations, which require NGOs to report information about foreign and international grants to the government prior to using them, entered into force in August 2015.  However, government instructions detailing the notification procedure have yet to be adopted, as a result of which NGOs continue to operate in uncertainty with respect to how the new provisions will be implemented. Intrusive and unregulated inspections of NGOs carried out by tax and other authorities remain a matter of concern.  Nota Bene remains at the threat of closure as the lawsuit brought against it by the Tax Committee is still pending in court.  The Tax Committee has requested that the organization be closed down because it allegedly used gaps in the legislation when registering as a “public foundation” rather than as a “public association”.

Established in the spring of 208, the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) is an international non-governmental human rights organization with its seat in Brussels, Belgium.  It is a non-profit organization (NGO, registered with the Brussels Commercial Court as an association sans but lucratif, or (ASBL)).

IPHR''s main aim is to empower local civil society groups promoting human rights in different countries and help them make their concerns heard at the international level.  Working together with other human rights NGOs, IPHR acts to advance the rights of vulnerable communities, who are subject to discrimination and human rights abuses in different parts of the world, through monitoring, reporting, awareness-raising, capacity-building and national and international advocacy

IPHR works together with human rights NGOs from different countries on project development and implementation, research and publication activities, as well as international advocacy.