DUSHANBE, 06.08.2018. /NIAT “Khovar”/. As we earlier reported, on August 4, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan signed the draft amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan toughening the punishment for public appeal to terrorism and mass justification of terrorist activities via Internet.

Amendments were made to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan in order to strengthen the fight against terrorism and extremism.

The term “justification of terrorist activities” in Tajikistan’s legislation means public statements of support for terrorist acts and recognition of this ideology as correct.

After publication of the new version of the criminal code, public calls for terrorist activities and public justification of terrorism are punishable by 10 to 15 years’  imprisonment.

Earlier, the draft amendments to the Criminal Code were supported and approved by the deputies of both houses of the Parliament of Tajikistan.

During the presentation of the draft amendments at the meeting of Majlisi namoyandagon Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan, deputy Bakhtovar Safarov said that the practice of law enforcement bodies shows that for some users the social networks and messengers have become a platform for the propaganda of terrorism and terrorist activities.

In the judicial practice of Tajikistan, there were several cases when users of social networks were sent to prison for “like” or “class” under the materials of terrorist persuasion, or reposts of messages of organizations and movements, whose activities are banned in the republic.

According to the law enforcement bodies of Tajikistan, many of Tajiks who went to the Middle East and joined the ranks of extremists, including the “Islamic state”*, were recruited through social networks.

It should be noted that President Emomali Rahmon signed the Criminal Code in a new edition 5 days after the massacre of a group of young people over foreign bicyclists in the south of Tajikistan. The crime was recognized as a terrorist act committed by members of the terrorist-extremist organization Islamic renaissance party* banned in Tajikistan.

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 * banned in Tajikistan