Tajikistan moves to institutionalize dictatorship

On Sunday, Tajikistan held a referendum on a constitutional amendment to allow its 63-year-old authoritarian president Emomali Rahmon to run for office indefinitely. The amendment to lift the limit on his time in office applies only to Rahmon. According to the Tajik Central Election Commission (CEC), voters in Tajikistan endorsed the amendment to its constitution allowing Rahmon to run for unlimited terms by 94.5 percent. Turnout was 92 percent, according to the CEC. There are three significant statute amendments among the 41 amendments given. The constitutional referendum results provide unlimited terms for Rahmon, paves the way for his son's presidency, and outlaws "religion-based" political parties. The amendments lower the minimum age for presidential candidates from 35 to 30, which observers note means Rahmon's son Rustam Emomali could run for presidential election in 2020, when he will be only 33.

In April, Tajik President Rahmon approved a bill to celebrate Nov. 16 as "President's Day," honoring his autocratic rule. According to the Tajik Presidential Press Agency, the law was accepted "taking into account the significant political experience and huge contribution" to peace and national unity in Tajikistan. Amendments to the law passed without opposition, in a parliament packed with Rahmon loyalists. "President's Day" will remain a working day. Another bill passed in December 2015 gave Rahmon the title of "leader of the nation." The bill also gives Rahmon the right to oversee the activities of the government even after he retires, and lifelong immunity from judicial and criminal prosecution for him and his family. According to the Norwegian human rights organization Forum 18 that promotes religious freedom, Tajik officials maintain tight restrictions on religious freedoms, including religious education and worship, as well as restricting religious dress. Under the pretext of combating extremism, Tajikistan continues to ban Muslim groups in the Muslim-majority Central Asian country. Headscarves are banned from educational institutions and beards are prohibited in public buildings. "At least 50,000 signatures must be collected to build a mosque in Tajik provinces. Women and those under 18 are banned from mosques," said Muhiddin Kabiri, the leader of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). In January 2016, Tajik police closed more than 160 shops selling traditional Muslim clothing, and forcibly shaved nearly 13,000 men's beards, as part of the country's fight against what it calls "foreign" influences. Bahrom Sharifzoda, the head of the Khathlon region's police, said at a press conference that the law enforcement services had convinced more than 1,700 women and girls to stop wearing headscarves. According to Forum 18, since early 2016, Tajik courts have handed down prison sentences to at least 55 Muslim men, many of whom were accused of participating in and spreading the teachings of an Islamic movement. The longest-known sentence, of 16 years' imprisonment, was handed down in Dushanbe. Those sentenced include the Imams of mosques appointed with the approval of the State Committee for Religious Affairs (SCRA). Tajik officials refuse to explain what crimes they allegedly committed. The punishments are "designed to scare the population away from any active movement spreading Islam including IRPT," said Forum 18. The organization mainly focuses on religious rights in Central Asian countries, and reports by Forum 18 are widely used by international organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The Tajik Justice Ministry announced in August 2015 that the non-parliamentary IRPT could not legally continue its activities, because it did not have enough members to qualify as a registered party. Tajik prosecutors said 23 top officials of the banned IRPT were arrested in September 2015. The Tajik Supreme Court ruled that the IRPT was an "extremist and a terrorist organization" before banning it. The ministry said all the party's branches had been closed in 58 cities and districts across Tajikistan. The IRPT played an important role in Tajikistan's 1992 to 1997 civil war, which left tens of thousands dead and more than 1 million people displaced. Tajik Justice Minister Rustam Shohmurod announced that "foreign," especially Arabic-sounding names, have caused divisions in Tajik society. Previously in May 2015, representatives were debating whether to ban Arabic names and Arabic words in Tajik as part of an ongoing campaign against Islam. Names derived from early Muslims, such as Sumayyah, Aisha and Asiya, were once almost rare in Tajikistan, despite it being a Muslim-majority country, but have in recent years become the most popular names for girls. Muhammad, Yusuf and Abu Bakr are among the most popular names for boys. Some Tajik members of parliament are reportedly demanding that Arabic-sounding names should be changed to Tajik-Persian names. A law was also approved banning children under 18 from attending Friday prayers. Tajiks under the age of 35 were banned from the Hajj pilgrimage in 2015 by the SCRA. Wearing black was banned for women in the northern district of Khujan, and importing black dresses was banned to diminish the "Shiite effect" in April 2015. Tajik parliament rejected a proposed law to allow prayer in public and workplaces. Some activities of religious groups have been restricted by the requirement for them to register with the SCRA. Religious groups that do not have a physical structure are not allowed to gather publicly for prayer. Failure to register can result in large fines and the closure of places of worship. The Tajik people have struggled with poverty and instability since declaring independence from the Soviet Union more than two decades ago. The country remains heavily dependent on Russia, where the majority of Tajik people go for work.