asiaNet Human Rights

At least one westerner living in Dushanbe reports that she is routinely searched at border crossings and that on at least one occasions a customs official searched her sexual organs, although there was no cause for suspicion of any illegal activity.

Men are also routinely required to strip naked and submit to physical examinations. Perhaps even more often than women, they are forced to pay a bribe or face being detained or having their passport confiscated. One victim, Khomid Irodai, claimed the following about his regular trips between Dushanbe and Khojand in an article in Sadoi Mardum (The Voice of the People) of January 26: "First, they check through our things and our clothes at the train station and ask rudely,