Russia sent the brother of a representative of the opposition of the Tajik government to Dushanbe for trial.
Asliddin Sharipov, Shavkat Muhammad’s brother, is the director of “Payom” television, a media outlet affiliated with the banned Islamic Renaissance party in Tajikistan.
According to his relatives, he was arrested in Russia in September 2022 and extradited to Tajikistan on October 1 of this year, but his whereabouts are still unknown.
Tajik authorities have not announced the reason for the arrest and whereabouts of Asliddin Sharipov.
According to the Tagilstroev Prosecutor’s Office in Nizhny Tagil, Russia, he is suspected of cooperating with banned organizations or promoting them through the Internet (part two of Article 307(3) of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan). If convicted, he faces five to eight years in prison.
Shavkat Mohammad, Asliddin Sharipov’s brother, told Radio Ozodi on October 9 that the request of his relatives to clarify his whereabouts has been unsuccessful so far.
“His trial in Russia continued for a year,” Shavkat Mohammad said, adding that the Tajik authorities accuse him of cooperation with the Prohibited Party of Islamic Renaissance and Group 24. Something he says is “not true”.
The Tagilstroev Prosecutor’s Office also said in its conclusion, relying on the claims of the Tajik side, that Asliddin Sharipov published articles on Facebook allegedly in support of the National People’s Congress and “Group 24” and was wanted since 2021. The activity of the Islamic Renaissance Party is also prohibited within the territory of Russia.
“It is true that he had a page on Facebook like any other citizen, but he wrote his own opinion. I think that all this is an excuse, the goal of the Tajik authorities is to close my mouth,” said Shavkat Mohammad.
Meanwhile, Nina Chetvertkova, Asliddin Sharipov’s lawyer in Russia, asked her relatives to hire a lawyer for his protection in Tajikistan. “There is no sign of him for eight days. They should get a lawyer and find out where he is kept according to the law,” he said.
He added that within a year they tried to release Asliddin Sharipov from the Russian detention center and prevent his extradition to Tajikistan, but it did not happen. “We applied to the Russian authorities for temporary granting of refugee rights, but they did not respond,” he added.
In 2022, the authorities of Tajikistan brought nearly a hundred people, including 18 suspects of terrorism and extremism, to Dushanbe from foreign countries, including Russia, and imprisoned some of them for long periods.
Asliddin Sharipov from Ashti district of Sughd region is 36 years old and has three children. His relatives say that he has been working and living in Russia since 2016 and now they are worried about his future fate.
Source : Радио Озоди