Photo: from the website hronikatm.com

141 people engaged in divination and witchcraft have been detained in Dushanbe since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the capital reports.

Employees of the metropolitan police have intensified their work to combat such phenomena as fortune-telling and witchcraft, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stressed.

"Despite the efforts made, observations show that this category of people continues to exist. In this regard, the punishment against fortune tellers and sorcerers has been tightened," the report says.

Law enforcement officers note that card fortune–telling is one of the most common activities of fortune tellers and sorcerers. In particular, in August alone, 7 women were detained by the city police for esoteric practices.

According to the new amendments made to Article 482 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Tajikistan dated June 21 of this year, for practicing divination and witchcraft, individuals are fined in the amount of 80 to 100 indicators for calculations or administrative arrest for a period of 10 to 15 days.

Additionally, Article 240, Appendix 1, was introduced into the Criminal Code of the country. According to this article, in case of repeated commission of these acts within a year after the application of an administrative penalty, a criminal case will be initiated against fortune tellers. They face a fine of 1,500 to 2,000 indicators for calculations or imprisonment for a period of one to two years.

In Tajikistan, administrative liability for witchcraft was introduced in 2008, and since 2015, criminal penalties of up to 7 years in prison have been introduced for conducting magical rituals.

But despite this, people continue to use the services of fortune tellers and sorcerers.