The President of Tajikistan has signed a law amending the Criminal Code, which removes criminal liability for likes and reactions on social media.

As of May 14, Tajikistan will no longer prosecute people for liking or reacting to content on social media — President Emomali Rahmon signed the corresponding law today, the Tajik president’s press service says.

The document eliminates criminal liability for expressing support (through likes or other reactions) for posts that the authorities previously deemed extremist or threatening to public order.

In 2018, the president had signed amendments to Article 179 of the Criminal Code, under which public calls for terrorist acts and public justification of terrorism online were punishable by 10 to 15 years in prison.

Article 179 is titled “Public Calls for Terrorist Crimes and/or Public Justification of Terrorist Activities.”  The phrase “on the internet” was added to the scope of the article at that time.

Under this law, public justification of terrorism was interpreted as propaganda promoting the correctness of terrorist ideology and practice, including calls for imitation and support (Criminal Code Article 179).

Previously, Tajik social media users were prosecuted under Article 307 of the Criminal Code for “liking” or reposting materials linked to terrorist content or banned organizations.

Local human rights defenders and international organizations had repeatedly pointed out that such legal norms violated freedom of expression.

In 2024, President Rahmon publicly criticized the practice of launching criminal cases over online activity.  He reproached law enforcement agencies for unjustified prosecutions based on “likes” and stressed that “this practice must be stopped.”

The president's criticism came amid growing concern in recent years over citizens being imprisoned for viewing, liking, or commenting on posts by religious or opposition figures online.

Legal experts and human rights defenders have noted that the adoption of the new law could be an important step toward protecting citizens' rights in the digital space and eliminating the subjective interpretation of users' online actions.

On April 10 this year, Tajik parliament's lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) approved the draft law on amendments to the country’s Criminal Code abolishing imprisonment of people for liking some online posts.

Presenting the bill to lawmakers, First Deputy Prosecutor-General Umed Karimzoda noted that the amendments provide for completely abolishing criminal punishment in Articles 179 (3) and 307 (1) of the Criminal Code for putting emojis and emoticons (likes) under videos and messages. 

Citing the Justice Ministry's Main Directorate for Execution of Punishments, Karimzoda said that 1,507 citizens of the country were serving prison terms for liking online videos and reports, and writing “comments and opinions containing terrorist and extremist content”.

Meanwhile, in addition, other laws signed on April 14 include the Law on Capital and the Promotion of Investment Activity, aimed at improving the investment climate and a new Law on Military Duty and Military Service, which clarifies the procedures for military service.

Details of these changes have not yet been disclosed.

The president’s office emphasized that these legislative initiatives are aimed at strengthening the legal framework and ensuring sustainable socio-economic development of the country.

The full texts of the laws will be published in the official press.

According to the press service, the Law on Capital and the Promotion of Investment Activity is intended to support investments and enhance Tajikistan's investment climate.