The Taliban detained two prominent theater artists in Herat Province on January 1, 2026, one day after authorities announced enforcement of a ban prohibiting media from broadcasting images of living beings. Gholam Farooq Sarkhosh and Firoz Ahmad Malaeka were summoned by the Taliban's Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and subsequently detained after they criticized the restriction during a meeting with media representatives.
Concerts, exhibitions and literary events across Central Asia are being cancelled after artists’ political statements or perceived alignment with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. From pro‑Kremlin musicians dropped in Tashkent to a Taiwanese exhibition halted in Almaty, cultural programming in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan is now defined by quiet pressures and sudden reversals.
Kazakhstan is tightening legal pressure on artists, comedians and satirists, using “petty hooliganism,” “incitement of hatred” and new “LGBTI propaganda” provisions to police creative work. Recent cases against a rapper, stand‑up comics, a choreographer and a satirical blogger have turned social media into an early‑warning system, as artists frame each arrest as part of a broader crackdown.
On May 6, 2025, Azerbaijan became the first-ever global sponsor of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. While projecting a modern and creative image abroad, the country intensifies censorship and repression at home. Independent artists face arrests, exile, and intimidation, revealing a stark contrast between Azerbaijan’s cultural diplomacy and the lived reality of creative voices who dare to dissent.
