Event Summary
On 7 August 2025, the First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of Tajikistan, Shavkat Lutfullozoda, confirmed at a press conference that the bank savings of Rukhshona Khakimova, a 31-year-old imprisoned journalist and mother of two young children, were confiscated by the state.
The journalist was sentenced in February 2025 to eight years in prison for “high treason” under the high-profile “coup case”. According to her relatives, the amount confiscated was approximately 230.000 Somoni (21.000 Euros), which she has been saving to buy a house. Authorities did not disclose the official amount. The confiscation is part of broader punitive measures imposed on defendants in the case which also involved well-known public and political figures and former security officers.
The verdict against the journalist sparked significant public outcry in Tajikistan and internationally, with numerous calls from civil society, journalists, international organizations and the UN Special Rapporteur urging a review or reversal of her sentence. To date, the authorities have not responded to these appeals.