More than 4,000 Tajik citizens are currently on international wanted lists, while the total number of people sought by the country’s authorities stands at 7,823, Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda said at a news conference in Dushanbe on July 21.
According to the minister, 1,579 wanted individuals were detained and returned to Tajikistan during the first six months of 2026. Another 580 people returned voluntarily.
“Of those who returned voluntarily, 259 are members of extremist and terrorist organizations,” Rahimzoda said.
He added that since 2015, a total of 2,415 people whom the authorities classify as members of extremist or terrorist groups, or as participants in armed conflicts abroad, have voluntarily returned to Tajikistan.
During the first half of 2026, law enforcement agencies also identified 349 suspected members of extremist and terrorist organizations inside the country. Of these, 188 were detained, including 88 young people, according to the minister.
More than 4,200 people on international wanted lists
The Interior Ministry reported that 4,225 Tajik citizens are currently on international wanted lists through the National Central Bureau (NCB) of INTERPOL in Tajikistan. An additional 403 people were added during the first six months of 2026.
Ministry officers reportedly detained and returned 373 wanted individuals to Tajikistan during this period, including 117 from Russia. Officials did not specify the countries from which the others were returned.
The Prosecutor-General’s Office has provided a different figure. At a news conference on July 22, Prosecutor-General Habibullo Vohidzoda said that 4,016 Tajik citizens were currently wanted.
According to Vohidzoda, most of them have been placed on interstate or international wanted lists in connection with terrorism- and extremism-related criminal cases.
The Prosecutor-General’s Office also reported that 77 wanted individuals were detained abroad and returned to Tajikistan during the first half of the year.
The authorities did not explain why the figures provided by the Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor-General’s Office differ.
Several cases involving the extradition or possible extradition of Tajik citizens from Russia and European countries have attracted public attention in recent months.
Relatives of some of those returned to Tajikistan have questioned the allegations against them and described the authorities’ actions as unjustified. Tajik officials maintain that the extraditions and prosecutions are lawful because the individuals are wanted on suspicion of criminal offences.
