Episode 7: Why Tajikistan’s opposition turned to the International Criminal Court?

This week, we’ll be looking at the recent complaint filed against Tajikistan with the International Criminal Court by several groups, including the Islamic Renaissance Party — Tajikistan’s main opposition group operating in exile.The complainants allege that, over the years, Tajikistan has committed crimes against humanity, including torture, rape, extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and forced exile.Joining us is Steve Swerdlow, a human rights lawyer and professor of practice at the University of California, who has spent years researching Central Asia. I asked him how Tajikistan has changed over time, what the most striking human rights abuses committed by the regime are, and what we know about the details of the ICC case. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe