Tajikistan to release over 11,300 prisoners for independence anniversary

DUSHANBE: Tajikistan has announced an amnesty that will lead to the release of more than 11,300 prisoners ahead of the country’s 35th independence anniversary.

According to an announcement published on Wednesday in the official newspaper of the Tajik parliament, the measure will affect 18,038 convicted prisoners in total. Of them, 11,305 are to be freed, while 6,733 will have their jail terms reduced. The process is to be completed within two months.

The legislation had been signed into law by President Emomali Rakhmon a day earlier. Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, marks its Independence Day on September 9 and has regularly declared broad amnesties every five years to coincide with major national milestones.

President Rakhmon has ruled the country since 1992. The latest move follows the government’s established practice of linking prisoner amnesties to key state anniversaries, with the 35th year of independence now serving as the occasion for the new measure.