In Pursuit of Olympic Glory, Russia Exploiting Migrant Workers – Report
Thousands of migrant workers, many from Central Asia and the Caucasus, are toiling in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi to help stage the most expensive Olympic Games in history. Many are abused...
View ArticleLibel Suit Exposes Disgust with Tajikistan’s Judiciary
Behind closed doors, this week a Tajik court ruled in a controversial libel case. To no one’s surprise the plaintiff – the son of a high-ranking government official – won. That Tajikistan’s rich and...
View ArticleTajikistan’s Dancing President Behind Latest YouTube Block?
It turns out the rumors are true: Emomali Rakhmon of Tajikistan can boogie. (And maybe he likes a tipple.) Videos that appeared online this week shows the Tajik strongman moving gracefully around a...
View ArticleTurkmenistan: J.Lo Shakes it for Berdymukhamedov
UPDATE: The publicist for J.Lo (or J-Low, as she's being called on Twitter) has effectively admitted not knowing how to use Google: "Had there been knowledge of human rights issues [of] any kind,...
View ArticleWas J.Lo a Chinese Bribe to Turkmenistan?
Reports about Jennifer Lopez’s weekend birthday tribute to Turkmenistan’s president have mostly focused on her apparent lack of concern for the country’s staggering human rights abuses and systemic...
View ArticleTajikistan: Bad Days for President’s Critics
It’s been another bad week for critics of Tajikistan’s long-serving strongman, Emomali Rahmon. On July 18, police announced they had found a body appearing to be that of Salim Shamsiddinov, the missing...
View ArticleTajikistan: Water Conference Produces Platitudes, Few Concrete Ideas
Dushanbe hosted a conference on water this week, attended by some 900 representatives from over 70 countries and organizations. Despite a heartening appearance by a delegation from Tajikistan’s...
View ArticleTajikistan: Russian Aluminum Giant Claims $275m Victory in Swiss Tribunal
The world’s largest aluminum company says it has won $275 million in damages from Tajikistan’s largest enterprise. Moscow-based Rusal said in an emailed statement on October 16 that a Swiss tribunal...
View ArticleTajikistan’s President Appoints Son to Lucrative Government Post
Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon has appointed his son to head the country’s Customs Service, the president’s website reported today. Many have long believed Rakhmon is grooming the 26-year-old...
View ArticleTajikistan Gags Ex-Minister with Long Prison Term
A court in Tajikistan has sentenced a former minister and fledgling opposition leader to 26 years in prison on charges his supporters say are politically motivated. The Supreme Court found Zaid Saidov,...
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