Day: April 7, 2023

Tajik prosecutors have brought new charges against known human rights lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov, who is serving a 28-year prison term. The Poland-based Buzurgmehr Foundation, an independent group that advocates for political prisoners in Tajikistan, said Yorov has recently been charged with a large-scale fraud committed with a particularly dangerous recidivism (Article 247 (4) of Tajikistan's Penal Code), which is punishable by up to 12 years in prison. Yorov has been transferred from Vahdat-based penal colony, where he is serving his jail term, to the pretrial detention facility in Dushanbe Buzurgmehr's brother Jamshed Yorov has also published this statement on his Facebook page. New charges have been brought against Buzurgmehr Yorov on the basis of an alleged statement by one of the prisoners, who has been serving his jail term together with Buzurgmehr Yorov in the Vahdat-based penal colony. Recall, Buzurgmehr Yorov, 52, was a lawyer for 13 jailed members and leaders of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), which was labeled a terrorist organization and outlawed in 2015. In October 2016, Yorov was sentenced to 23 years in prison after a court convicted him of calling for the government's overthrow and inciting social unrest. The U.S. State Department and rights groups have condemned Yorov's arrest. Later, his prison term was extended to 28 years after he was found guilty of contempt of court and insulting a government official. In September 2019, Buzurgmehr Yorov was awarded the Faiziniso Vohidova Human Rights Prize for his contribution to the development of democratic institutions and civil rights in Tajikistan. The award, established by the Association of Central Asian Migrants in Europe, was handed to Yorov's brother Jamshed Yorov in Warsaw at the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, on September 18. In February 2020, Buzurgmehr Yorov was awarded annual Homo Homini prize of the Prague-based NGO People in Need for his 'commitment to defending basic human rights and to assure a fair trial to all citizens' of his country. In October 2021, Buzurgmehr Yorov's prison sentence was reduced by four years under amnesty.

Source: Asia-Plus

Tajik freelance journalist Khurshed Fozilov, who was detained by officers of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS)'s office in the Tajik northern city of Panjakent on March 6 and to the constitutional order in Tajikistan through the media and or the Internet (Article 307 (2) of Tajikistan's Penal Code), says he was forced to testify against himself. His defense lawyer, Ms. Dilafrouz Samadova, noted this on her Facebook page on April 7. According to her, Fozilov said that he did not commit the crime. 'As Fozilov said, he did not carry out work against the government and all his work was carried out in accordance with applicable law,' Ms. Samadova writes on her Facebook page. Khurshed Fozilov reportedly applied to the Sughd chief prosecutor's office through his defense lawyer with a complaint about illegal detention, violation of his right to privacy and coercion to testify against himself. His brother Khoushbakht Fozilov had earlier told Asia-Plus that criminal proceedings had been instituted against Khurshed under the provisions of Article 307 (2) of Tajikistan's Penal Code - public calls for forcible changes to the constitutional order in the country through the media and or the Internet. On what basis the case was initiated against him under this article is still unknown. This article provides for imprisonment for the term of between three and eight years. International human rights organizations have urged Tajik authorities to release Tajik freelance journalist. In a statement released on March 17, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says Tajik authorities should release journalist Khurshed Fozilov and stop prosecuting journalists in retaliation for their work. 'Coming just months after Tajik authorities sentenced several journalists to lengthy prison terms without making public any compelling evidence against them, journalist Khurshed Fozilov seems trapped in the same cycle,' said Ms. Gulnoza Said, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. 'Tajik authorities must disclose the exact reason for Fozilov's arrest or immediately release him, alongside all other imprisoned journalists.' The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC), International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) and Front Line Defenders (FLD) released a joint statement on March 24, noting that 'the government of Tajikistan should immediately release independent journalist and human rights defender Khurshed Fozilov and cease the reprisals against independent journalism in the country.' A report released by the CPJ on December 14 last year says arrest and conviction of independent journalists and bloggers makes Tajikistan the leading jailer in Central Asia. The report, in particular, notes that the prisoners were tried secretly behind closed doors in detention centers, not courts, and sentenced to lengthy prison terms amid allegations of torture. Tajikistan was ranked 152nd out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' 2022 World Press Freedom Index, and Not Free in Freedom House's 2022 Global Freedom Status, with a score of 8/100. Last month, Tajikistan was downgraded from 'repressed' to 'closed' by the CIVICUS Monitor, a global research collaboration that rates and tracks fundamental freedoms in 197 countries and territories. 'Closed' is the worst rating a country can receive by the CIVICUS Monitor.

Source: Asia-Plus

Tajikistan has set up a unified register of debtors. Currently, the list includes 7,200 physical entities and 203 legal entities.

Source: Asia-Plus

The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Dr. Nazila Ghanea, will conduct an official visit to Tajikistan from April 11-12, 2023. Press release issued by the UN Human Rights Office says the UN expert will assess freedom of religion or belief, including how it intersects with the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association, as well as issues of gender equality and the human rights of women, children and those belonging to religious or belief minorities. She will also assess any efforts to promote and maintain peaceful coexistence among different religious communities while countering extremism and terrorism. Dr. Ghanea noted the recommendations made by the former UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Asma Jahangir, after her visit in 2007. During her 11-day visit, the Special Rapporteur will meet with Government officials, representatives of religious or belief communities, civil society organizations and the United Nations. She will also visit cities outside of Dushanbe, having requested visits to Khorog and Khujand. At the end of her visit on Friday April 21, 2023, the expert will share her preliminary observations at a press conference at the UN Headquarters in Dushanbe. Dr. Nazila Ghanea of the Islamic Republic of Iran was appointed the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief in July 2022, and she took up the mandate on August 1, 2022. Dr. Ghanea is Professor of International Human Rights Law and Director of the MSc in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford. She has researched and published widely in international human rights law, including on freedom of religion or belief, and served as consultant to numerous agencies. The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Source: Asia-Plus

Today, the Founder of Peace and National Unity — Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, sent a message of condolences to the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The message reads, in part:

“Dear Gurbanguly Myalikgulyevich,

It is with deep sadness and sorrow that I received the news of the death of your esteemed mother, Ogulabat eje.

Please accept our most sincere and deepest condolences for your heavy loss. I wish you, your loved ones and relatives mental strength and patience in this difficult time.”

Source: National information agency of Tajikistan