Fast Facts RFE/RL's Tajik Service attracts a young, influential audience with its timely, locally focused reporting. The government's continued vigor controlling politics and media has lent further impetus to Radio Ozodi's trusted coverage. Language: Tajik Coverage: Six hours a day Established: 1953 Distribution: Radio (SW, Satellite), Internet (www.ozodi.org, www.ozodi.tj) Locations: Prague headquarters, Dushanbe Staff: 37 in Prague and Dushanbe, 6 stringers

Media Environment

• Freedom House Freedom of the Press Index, 2010: Not Free (169th/196)
• Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, 2009: 113th/175
• Most media outlets in Tajikistan are independent in name only. Despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press, journalists often face harassment and intimidation, and the government controls the majority of printing presses and broadcasting facilities.
• The process of obtaining broadcast licenses is cumbersome -- Tajikistan’s first private radio station only opened in 2002 after a four year wait for approval. Radio is the only medium accessible throughout the country, as power shortages in more remote areas limit television viewing.

Highlights

• Radio Ozodi has responded to a fresh tightening of official controls on independent media with a renewed emphasis on analytical and investigative reporting on issues that directly affect Tajikistan's 7 million people.
• In October 2007, Radio Ozodi relaunched its website, using the latest technology to offer photo galleries and video clips of daily events in Tajikistan and the world.
• In April 2007, Radio Ozodi launched satellite broadcasts on Hot Bird in order to provide its audience with improved sound quality.
• Tajik media outlets have testified to the reliability and breadth of Radio Ozodi’s reporting by often reprinting its reports.
• Ozodi.org has become one of the most popular and trusted Tajik-language Web sites in the country.
• Radio Ozodi was among the most trusted media outlets during the country’s 1992-97 civil war.

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Population
6.84 million (2008 World Bank estimate)

Most Common Languages:
Tajik, Russian, Uzbek

Press Freedom Index (Freedom House):
Not Free, ranked 169 out of 196 (2010)
 
Press Freedom Index (RSF):
65 out of 175 (2010)

Corruption Index (Transparency Int.):
154 out of 178 (2010)

Global Peace Index (IES):
147 out of 149 (2010)

Human Rights Watch:
Report on Tajikistan (2010)

Amnesty International:
Tajikistan Report (2009)