Access to some news websites, including Asia-Plus news agency, has been blocked in Tajikistan again. 

Internet users across the country say they cannot open the Asia-Plus website since December 4.

According to some Internet users, access to Radio Ozodi’s website was blocked on December 5.  Meanwhile, some Internet users say they have access to Radio Ozodi’s website. 

The communications service agency has refrained from commenting on the situation.  

Access to social networks Facebook, OK, VK and YouTube remains open.  

Access to the website of Asia-Plus news agency as well as to the social media and social networking service company Facebook was unblocked just recently -- on November 16, when the first of six units of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP) was introduced into operation.  

It is already the third time since summer this year that that access to the Asia-Plus website is being blocked.  

The first blockage fell on the period of investigation into the killing of foreign cyclists in Danghara and lasted for two months.

For the second time, access to Asia-Plus website was blocked on November 6 and the website was inaccessible during ten days until November 16.

Many Internet users who routinely use VPNs to circumvent website blocking report that the best-known VPNs are also blocked.

In its official response to Asia-Plus inquiry, the Communications Service under the Government of Tajikistan said that the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center, or EKTs in its Russian-language acronym, bears no relation to blockage of access to the Asia-Plus website.

As it had been reported earlier, starting this year, authorities deprived local fixed-lined and mobile service providers of the right to buy data traffic from neighboring countries.  The government cited security as grounds for the prohibition. Internet service providers (ISPs) must now buy data from the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center.

Meanwhile some experts say that some power-wielding structures of the country have had technical capacities to block access to Internet resources lately.