Tajik lawmakers protest closure of mosques

Several Tajik lawmakers released an open letter to the president on Wednesday objecting to the closing of many mosques in the ex-Soviet Central Asian nation. One opposition lawmaker told The Associated Press that, in the Tajik capital alone, three mosques had been razed and dozens of others closed by authorities. "We feel obliged to voice our discontent," said Khodzhi Akbar Turadhzonzoda, who was among those signing the letter.