‘The Authoritarian Regime Uses Collective Punishment to Discourage Any Challenge to Its Authority’ By CIVICUS Copyright © 2025 IPS-Inter Press Service.

Sep 17 2025 (IPS) - CIVICUS discusses the deaths of Indigenous activists in custody in Tajikistan with Khursand Khurramov, an independent journalist and political analyst. https://www.ipsnews.net/2025/09/the-authoritarian-regime-uses-collective-punishment-to-discourage-any-challenge-to-its-authority/ Five Indigenous Pamiri activists have died in Tajikistan’s prisons in 2025, reportedly after being denied adequate medical assistance. Since 2021, around 40 Pamiris have been killed and over 200 activists arbitrarily detained. Civil society organisations condemn these deaths in custody and the state’s broader pattern of systematic repression against the Pamiri ethnic minority, who make up less than three per cent of Tajikistan’s population. Copyright © 2025 IPS-Inter Press Service.