Estimates as to the number of people detained in Tajikistan ranges from 9,162 in 2013, of which 1,049 were incarcerated for drug law offences [1], to 12,000 in 2017 [2] and 13,300 in April 2019 [3]. The consumption of illicit drugs does not fall under administrative or criminal sanctions in Tajikistan. However, the possession of a ‘minor quantity’ of illicit drugs without the intent to distribute is an administrative offence and, under Article 128, is punishable by a fine from 20 to 30 fine units (€108-€162) for individuals. Possession of a ‘small quantity’ of illicit drugs without intent to distribute is a criminal offence, falling under Article 201 of the Criminal Code, and punishable with a fine from 100 to 500 fine units (€540-€2,700) or 2 years in prison. Possession of a ‘considerable quantity’ of illicit drugs can result in imprisonment of 2-5 years; of a ‘large quantity’, to 5-8 years in prison; and of a ‘very large quantity’ of illicit drugs, to 8-12 years in prison [4]. HIV prevalence among prisoners is estimated to be around 7% [5], with antiretroviral therapy (ARV) available as well as opioid substitution therapy (OST) and needle/syringe programmes (NSP) within prisons [6].
In 2018, the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) stated that, “The Committee is concerned at reports of several instances of death in custody, including suicides and deaths that occurred due to a high incidence of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS among prisoners, and due to the lack of prompt screening on admission and lack of adequate medical care offered to ill prisoners, and at the large number of cases in which the penitentiary authorities have not issued reports on the causes of deaths in custody” [7].
There is no data on the amount spent for the detention of one prisoner, but according to the 2018 UN CAT report, prison conditions are very poor. “The Committee is concerned that conditions of detention — such as overcrowding, and inadequate material conditions of detention, including adequate food and drinking water, heating, ventilation, and sanitary and hygiene facilities, as well as treatment for transmissible diseases, and meaningful activities and outdoor exercise — do not meet international standards. Of particular concern for the Committee are the conditions in the women’s prison, where reports of staff shortages and of insufficient food and heat have been registered by the Monitoring Group” [8].
The number of people who inject drugs in Tajikistan was estimated in 2018 to be 22,200 [9] with a HIV prevalence estimated at 12.9% according to a national integrated biological and behavioural survey (IBBS) in 2014 [10]. NSP costs in 2018 were around €36 per client [11], per year, and OST costs are in the region of €120 per client, per year, with methadone in tablet form about a third of the cost of liquid methadone [12]. Unemployment benefit is paid at the rate of about €22.12 to cover a period of 3 months and is based on 50% of the insured person’s gross average monthly earnings in the previous 6 months [13].
Therefore, the total cost of supporting a person who injects opioid in community settings is in the region of €178 per year.
[1] Chingin A, Fedorova O. Tajikistan Drug Situation and Drug Policy. Strasbourg; Pompidou Group, December 2014. https://rm.coe.int/drug-situation-and-drug-policy-by-alex-chingin-and-olga-fedorova-decem/168075f2fe (accessed 10 August 2021).
[2] Hamrabaeva N. TB and HIV – A Plague of Tajikistan Prisons. Dushanbe; AFEW International, 10 October 2017. https://afew.org/eecaaids2018/prison-tajikistan-eng/ (accessed 10 August 2021).
[3] http://cadap-eu.org/upload/file/AR_TJ_2018_15_online_final.pdf
[4] Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA). Penalties for drug law offences in East Europe and Central Asia at a glance. Vilnius; EHRA, 2017. https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/drug-laws/#Possession (accessed 7 August 2021); see also, Criminal Code of the Republic Of Tajikistan. Dushanbe; National Centre of Legislation, 21 May 1998, and as amended in 2020. Unofficial translation into English. https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/8915/file/Tajikistan_CC_1998_am2020_en.pdf (accessed 10 August 2021).
[5] Hamrabaeva N., Ibid.
[6] Harm Reduction International (HRI). Global State of Harm Reduction 2020, Regional Overview 2.2 Eurasia. London; HRI, 2021. https://www.hri.global/files/2020/10/26/Global_State_HRI_2020_2_2_Eurasia_FA_WEB.pdf (accessed 3 August 2021).
[7] Committee against Torture (CAT). Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Tajikistan. Geneva; Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 18 June 2018. (accessed 10 August 2021).
[8] Ibid.
[9] Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS). Country factsheets, Tajikistan. Geneva; UNAIDS, 2020. https://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/tajikistan (accessed 10 August 2021).
[10] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), HIV/AIDS Section. Annual Report of the High Priority Countries: Injecting Drug Use and HIV, 2017. Vienna; UNODC, 2017. https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2017-Annual-report-of-the-high-priority-countries-injecting-drug-use-and-HIV.pdf (accessed 10 August 2021).
[11] The costs of NSP services were provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Tajikistan.
[12] Latypov A. Republic of Tajikistan: Assessment of the sustainability of the opioid agonist therapy programme in the context of transition from donor support to domestic funding. Vilnius; Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA), 2020. https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/EHRA-OAT-Sustainability-Assesment-Tajikistan-ENG-2020.pdf (accessed 18 August 2021); also available in Russian at, https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/EHRA-OAT-sustainability-assessment-Tajikistan-05.2020-RUS-1.pdf
[13] Karaev S. What you need to know about receiving unemployment benefits in Tajikistan. Dushanbe; ASIA-Plus, 2 June 2020. In Russian. https://asiaplustj.info/ru/news/tajikistan/society/20200602/chto-nuzhno-znat-o-poluchenii-posobiya-po-bezrabotitse-v-tadzhikistane (accessed 10 August 2021).