AKIPRESS.COM - Washington, DC will host on December 15 a round table discussion on "Tajikistan's Human Rights Crisis: Responses to Dushanbe's Political Crackdown", says Freedom House.

Tajikistan's human rights situation has deteriorated precipitously over the past two years amid an ongoing crackdown on the freedoms of expression and religion, censorship of the internet, and aggressive attempts to jail all political opposition, the organization believes.

"Following violent skirmishes in September 2014 between Tajik government forces and alleged Islamist militants that made worldwide headlines, President Rahmon stepped up his campaign against the political opposition, ordering the closure of Central Asia's only legally registered Islamic political party – the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) – arresting at least 78 of its members, and declaring the IRPT a terrorist organization. At the same time, political opponents abroad, including from the opposition Group 24, have been faced with extraditions, kidnappings, enforced disappearances and even assassinations in Russia, Turkey, and other neighboring states. In addition, the crisis is expanding rapidly, with a mass exodus of political activists from the country, and arrests of lawyers, journalists, and others from civil society," according to the message.

The round table speakers will provide new research from the field on Tajikistan's current human rights situation, and will also offer recommendations for policy responses by the U.S. government, EU, and other international partners. The session will be led by representatives of Tajikistan's embattled civil society, experts on the human rights, political, and religious context.