UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor once again called on the Tajik authorities to release convicted Tajik journalists and bloggers.
Mary Lawlor wrote on the social network “X” (formerly Twitter) that at a meeting with the Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the UN Jonibek Hikmat in New York on October 24, she again called on the Tajik authorities to release convicted human rights defenders and journalists, in particular Daler Imomali, Abdullo Gurbati and Ulfathonim Mamadshoeva.
Last year in Tajikistan, 8 journalists and bloggers were sentenced to various prison terms – from 7 to 21 years in prison. Four of them Daler Imomali, Abdullo Gurbati, Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda and Zavkibek Saidamini were found guilty of collaborating with banned organizations. The journalists themselves and their relatives deny the accusations. Some of the convicted journalists alleged torture in the pre-trial detention center.
Ulfathonim Mamadshoeva was arrested after the May 2022 events in GBAO, and in early December 2022 she was sentenced to 21 years in prison . The Tajik authorities accused Ulfathonim Mamadshoeva of organizing mass riots in the Rushan district and the city of Khorog in May 2022. Mamadshoyeva’s supporters consider the criminal case to be fabricated.
In September this year, eight UN experts said they were awaiting a response from the Tajik authorities to a letter expressing concern about the fate of convicted journalists and civil activists. They noted in a 20-page letter that from arrest to trial, the rights of detained journalists and activists were grossly violated.
The letter, signed, in particular, by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, and the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Alice Gill Edwards, cited cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees. UN experts wrote that the arbitrary arrests of some of those convicted were contrary to the laws of Tajikistan and international law. They criticized the Tajik authorities for imprisoning detained journalists and bloggers on trumped-up charges of extremism and collaboration with banned organizations. The actions of the Tajik authorities are a stern warning to other human rights defenders: severe punishment will follow for criticism, the letter noted.
In recent years, the government of Tajikistan has been criticized by the UN, Western countries and international human rights organizations for regular violations of human rights in the country.
