Affiliated media: Radio Ozodi, Editorial

Incident date: April 1, 2020

Attack type:

• Non-physical and/or cyber-attacks and threats

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Radio Free Liberty

Location: Tajikistan, Dushanbe

Additional information:

The editors of the Tajik service Radio Liberty-Radio Ozodi are under pressure after covering coronavirus-related topics. Ozodi's website is blocked and editors constantly receive calls demanding not to escalate panic about the virus. “When journalists of the Tajik RFE/RL service are trying to cover the topic of the coronavirus outbreak and fill the information vacuum, the Tajik government impedes their efforts and even restrains them,” writes Jamie Fly in a letter sent on March 30. "We assume that the government blocked the website of Radio Ozodi last week due to the Radio’s prompt and objective coverage of coronavirus, and the government continues to attempt to intervene in this process." Intervention in the activities of Radio Ozodi takes place against the backdrop of the refusal to issue accreditation to some Tajik journalists.