Tajikistan to register fortune tellers, sorcerers and drug users in police database

Tajikistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs plans to register fortune tellers, sorcerers and people who use their services in a special database, along with individuals involved in prostitution, procuring and drug distribution. The ministry says those listed will be subject to ongoing monitoring. The ministry said the measure is intended to combat superstition, fortune telling, sorcery and other forms of deception. The database will also include people known as nimchamullo ( “half-educated mullah,” “quasi-cleric,” or an “unqualified self-proclaimed religious figure”), as well as individuals involved in unlawful activities and their close associates. “These individuals will be kept under constant monitoring,” the ministry said in a statement published on its website. Information about those registered will be provided to relevant authorities upon request, it added.

The ministry has urged citizens to avoid contact with people in these categories, warning that association with them could damage their reputation among family members and society. Clients of fortune tellers can also be fined Tajikistan has been tightening its campaign against fortune telling and sorcery for several years. In August 2024, the Interior Ministry announced plans to register not only fortune tellers and sorcerers but also their clients. At the time, it said more than 150 people had been added to the relevant list in a single month. The ministry also warned that those involved would be summoned to police departments and entered into a photographic register. In the summer of 2024, Tajikistan tightened penalties for sorcery and fortune telling. Under Article 482 of the Code of Administrative Offences, engaging in these activities is punishable by a fine of 80–100 calculation indicators —…