Corona Daily 018: Chaos in Dushanbe

Last week, on 20 July, the younger sister of the president of Tajikistan died. Her three sons immediately attacked the country’s health minister and a senior doctor. The two severely beaten gentlemen sustained serious injuries, have been hospitalized, and not been seen since.

Tajikistan is one of the ex-Soviet Muslim republics north of Afghanistan. Dushanbe is the capital. Emomali Rahoman, the 68-year old dictator has been ruling the country since 1994. He has nine children from the first lady Azizmo Asadullayeva. Rahoman’s extended family and network of friends control every business, from airlines to banks. Opposition parties are either banned as extremist, or the opposition leaders assassinated. Rustam Emomali, the president’s son will replace his father when he eventually dies.

In April 2020, when other countries were locked down, president Rahoman continued to appear at large public gatherings, surrounded by dozens of women dressed in Tajikistan’s traditional attire.

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On 26 January this year, president Rahoman made a remarkable announcement in the parliament. Tajikistan became the first country in central Asia to eradicate covid-19. All cases had either recovered or died.

Tajik media is owned by the state. Independent television and radio stations focus on entertainment programmes. They lose their licences if they try to air independent views. Radio Ozodi (liberty) run by RadioFreeEurope tries to broadcast real news about Tajikistan from abroad. Some brave Tajiks anonymously write comments on social media.

The government said that for half a year, from 1 January to 20 June, there was not a single covid case in the country. The health ministry spokesman Emomali Mirzoyev told Radio Ozodi that people may have symptoms, but the tests were all negative. “Many people, during the heat of early June, drank excessively cold and even ice-cold water and swam in cold water.” That was the reason they were running high temperatures, nothing to do with the coronavirus.

Some unpatriotic people tried to post their positive results online.

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On 5 July, President Rahoman’s mother-in-law Uzbekbi Asadulloeva, 88, died of covid-19. This was not officially announced, but the local media reported it.

Few days later, a prominent imam called for prayers for the president’s son-in-law, a powerful business tycoon, Shamsullo Sohibov, who was down with covid-19. He was reportedly flown in the president’s plane to Germany for treatment.

The president’s influential brother-in-law Hassan Asadullozoda runs a bank, the national airline and many other businesses. He is reported to be in serious condition as a result of the coronavirus.

President’s younger sister Qurbonbi Rahmonova, was infected by the same eradicated virus. Medical experts from Germany, Russia and Uzbekistan were flown in to treat her. However, on 20 July, she succumbed to covid-19.

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Right after her death, and before the burial on the following day, her three sons went to attack Jamoliddin Abdullozoda, the health minister. Once he was thrashed to their satisfaction and sent to the hospital, the three got hold of Kholmuhammad Rahimzoda, the chief of the presidential hospital, and assaulted him. He landed in the ICU of the hospital he headed. Several other doctors escaped with minor injuries.

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In the news conference on Monday, 26 July the deputy health minister Gafur Mukhsinzoda blamed the reported wave of infections in Tajikistan on the delta variant, which he said probably entered Tajikistan from Russia. He offered no explanation for the absence of his boss, the health minister. He was not aware as to why he was not present at the press conference. When asked about the low numbers of cases and deaths in Tajikistan, he said all countries in the world had problems with counting the cases accurately.

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Though the presidential palace is infected, president Rahoman is reportedly fine and going around his business as usual. Coronavirus has so far maintained social distancing from all the dictators.

Ravi