Author: Namvar

London (15/11 – 67) Colombo Supreme Court rules that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, former Prime Minister Mahinda, were among several government officials whose conduct contributed to Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis in decades. The court was ruling on a petition filed against 13 former officials by rights group Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) which said the Rajapaksa brothers and others were responsible for the crisis. “Their actions, omissions and conduct contributed to the crisis,” the ruling said. The court did not order any punishment, according to a statement by TISL. The two Rajapaksa brothers, two former central…

The Moscow court sentenced Ahadjon Zohidov, a businessman born in Tajikistan, to 13 years in prison on charges of “treason” and “weapons smuggling”. According to Russian media, 36-year-old Ahadjon Zahidov was the deputy chairman of a construction company. According to the Moscow court, TASS news agency wrote that Ahadjon Zahidov was found guilty of “treason and arms smuggling”. It is not known by what action this Tajik businessman betrayed the Russian state and in what form he intended to sell weapons. The view of Zohidov and his relatives on the court verdict is not known. Aleksandr Rybak, the judge of…

Berlin (06/11 – 58) UN Special Rapporteur of Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, has once again called on the authorities of Tajikistan to release imprisoned Tajik journalists and bloggers. Mary Lawlor posted on her social media account, formerly Twitter, that during a meeting with Tajikistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jonibek Hikmat, in New York on October 24, she reiterated her call for the Tajik authorities to release the convicted human rights defenders and journalists, including Daler Imomali, Abdullo Gurbati, and Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva. Last year, in Tajikistan, eight journalists and bloggers were sentenced to various prison terms, ranging from 7…

Berlin (22/10 – 75) UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes, reported during his trip to the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in Tajikistan, he met with representatives of civil society and residents of the region. Varennes arrived in Tajikistan for a working visit on October 9 till October 20. The UN Special Rapporteur told journalists that the residents of Gorno-Badakhshan informed him about violations of their rights in 2021-2022, particularly concerning the rights of detainees and cases of harsh treatment by law enforcement agencies. He stated, “People are complaining about religious restrictions as well as limitations on the use…

Tajikistan handed over several local airports, which until now were under the control of the country’s city and district governments, to the Ministry of Defense. President Emomali Rahmon signed the decision on August 31. Radio Ozodi saw the copy on September 25. It was decided that Isfara airport, near the border with Kyrgyzstan, will be transferred to the Ministry of Defense from the balance of Khujand International Airport. Also, the airports of Farkhor and Mir Syed Ali Hamadani, which are located near Afghanistan, will be transferred to the balance of the Ministry of Defense. Until now, these two airports were under the…

The counterterrorism expert and author of “Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre: Lessons for the International Community” explains how religious extremism manifested in Sri Lanka’s deadliest terror attack. On April 21, 2019 – Easter Sunday – a coordinated series of bombings ripped through Sri Lanka, targeting churches and luxury hotels. Over 260 people were killed, making it the deadliest terrorist attack ever suffered by Sri Lanka. The attack has continued to resonate in Sri Lankan society and politics, as the public demands to untangle questions of responsibility: Why was the attack not prevented, and what can be done to stop the…

In Kenyan author Ngugi Wa-Thiong’o’s classic satirical novel The Wizard Of The Crow, the dictator of a fictional African country looks to two loyal enforcers to preserve his corrupt, authoritarian rule. One minister presents himself as the ruler’s “eyes” — even going as far as having his eyeballs surgically enhanced to make them the size of lightbulbs.The other calls himself the ruler’s “ears,” and duly has his ears stretched “larger than a rabbit’s…primed to detect danger at any time and from any direction.”In Tajikistan, national-security chief Saimumin Yatimov and Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda have been the eyes and the ears…

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan  The Executive Committee of the Internatıonal Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFSAS) convened Friday in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the Council of Heads of States-founders of the IFSAS meeting hosted by Tajik President Imamali Rahman. Rahman highlighted extensive efforts undertaken by the IFSAS and associated organizations to enhance water, environmental and socioeconomic conditions in the Aral Sea basin. “The rapid melting of glaciers, escalating natural disasters, floods, droughts, and landslides pose grave threats. These challenges necessitate a unified approach,” he said. Mirziyoyev…

Frankfurt (11/09 – 20) Two international human rights organizations have called on the Tajikistan government to immediately release jailed lawyer and human rights activist Manuchehr Kholiknazarov, as well as other activists and journalists. The International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and the international non-profit organization CIVICUS, which bills itself as “a global alliance aimed at strengthening the action of citizens and civil society around the world,” in their message published specially on the eve of Independence Day, September 8, focus on the fact that Tajik human rights activist and civil society activist Manuchehr Kholiknazarov was falsely sentenced to a long…

The failure of Vladimir Putin to attend the BRICS summit testifies to the isolation of the Russian Federation and the very limited ability of the Russian president to move around the world. Details: Putin will not attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg this week, the newspaper writes. Putin’s non-participation eloquently testifies to the isolation of Russia and the narrowing of the horizons of the Russian leader, the publication says. According to the newspaper, earlier Putin was the person to pay attention to. However, after his invasion of Ukraine, the world perceives him differently. Now the Russian leader is absent from the world political…