A reputable organization has asked the government of Tajikistan to stop taking revenge on peaceful activists and other dissidents and opponents, and to release representatives, journalists and leaders of the Badakhshan community from prison without any conditions.
On September 21, Amnesty International called on the countries of the world not to transfer the Pomeranian asylum seekers to Tajikistan or Russia, “because they will be arrested, tortured, imprisoned or disappeared there.”
The authorities have not yet responded to this Amnesty International statement.
In May 2022, as a result of the operations of the state forces in Khorog and Rushan, dozens of people were killed, injured, arrested and imprisoned. Government representatives call them members of criminal groups, but Western organizations and countries call them civil society activists.
“Torture with fists, sticks and electricity”
Amnesty International spoke to several witnesses of the events of May 2022 at the International Criminal Court. They have been interrogated and are currently abroad.
On the condition of anonymity, they said that during the interrogation, they heard insults not only against themselves, but also against their mother, sister, and wife, and were tortured with fists, sticks, and electric shocks.
“Any complaint about ill-treatment of detainees should be thoroughly investigated and the suspects brought to justice,” Amnesty International said.
The situation of the Pomirs who are abroad, but there is a risk of sending them to Tajikistan or Russia, is the most important concern of the organization.
Over the past year, dozens of natives of Badakhshan region were mysteriously brought to Tajikistan from Russia and, according to human rights defenders, were unfairly sentenced to long terms. Officials released a video of those arrested and said they returned voluntarily. Something that their loved ones do not accept.
“Don’t see the Pomirs”
Amnesty International says that now many Polish refugees are “at risk of deportation” in some European countries and other places.
“Countries that forcefully send Pomirs to Tajikistan violate the basic principles of human rights and refugee law. This law prohibits sending a person to a place where he may face persecution or serious violation of human rights,” said the officials of the organization.
They asked the international community to monitor the human rights situation in Tajikistan, including the Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region, raise it in international and regional meetings and try to solve it.
“Pamirs should fully use their economic, social, civil and political rights. Widespread discrimination against the Pomiris should be investigated independently and fairly,” said Amnesty International.
Badakhshan, protest and suppression
In the years of independence, Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region has been the place of protest of residents many times. The serious problem began in 2012, after the killing of the head of the KDAM office at the Central Bank of Ukraine, Abdullah Nazarov. At that time, according to official information, 23 soldiers and 21 civilians were killed during the operation in Khorog.
The repression of activists in Badakhshan became more severe in the spring of 2022 and after the protest in Khorugu Roshan. At that time, a group of young people took to the streets demanding a fair investigation into the death of Gulbiddin Ziyobekov, a resident of Roshtkala, and the resignation of the mayor of Khorugu, the head of Badakhshan region .
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Tajikistan announced that they eliminated 29 members of the criminal group in the region in a month-long operation. Radio Ozodi collected the names of 34 killed people . Their relatives said that they were not members of a criminal group.
Badakhshan Mountain Autonomous Region is the largest region of Tajikistan in terms of area. It has about 250 thousand inhabitants.
Part of the people speak local languages known as “Pomir languages”. The majority are followers of the Ismaili branch of the Shia religion and consider Prince Karim Aqahon IV as their religious leader. The population of other regions of Tajikistan consists of followers of the Hanafi school of Sunnis.
Source : Радио Озоди