On July 26, 2012, Internet providers in Tajikistan blocked users' access to the portal of the largest video hosting "YouTub". They did this on the verbal recommendation of the Communications Service under the government of their country.
According to the management of Telecomm Technology, the largest company in Tajikistan, they received an order from the Communications Service to block the site of the Russian information resource “Russia 24” and the video service youtube.com, which they did. The reason for the decree was not explained to Tajik providers.
Parvina Ibodova, chairman of the Association of Internet Service Providers, suggested that the closure of access to these resources is directly related to the recent events in the city of Khorog.
Two days earlier, on July 24, 2012, a large-scale special operation against a militant group began in Khorog. The country's authorities made her responsible for the death of the general of the special services Abdullo Nazarov.
As a result of the operation to neutralize the militants, 30 members of the group were killed and 40 were detained. According to official information, during the special operation, 12 employees of the power structures of Tajikistan were killed, and 23 people were injured. There are no casualties among the civilian population.
But in parallel with the special operation in Khorog, mass protests took place outside Tajikistan. At them, activists demanded that the government of the country stop the bloodshed. Videos about the protest events, along with a video about the July 23 rally in Khorog, were posted on YouTub. Presumably the publication of these videos was the reason for the blocking of the site.
This is not the first time in Tajikistan when access to Internet resources is closed on the recommendation of the government. In March, the social network Facebook was blocked, and a little later the same fate befell the Asia-Plus news agency.
Although soon an order was received to restore access to resources, some companies of Internet providers reinsured and continued blocking.
