|
29 May 2024- For two
years, Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov, lawyer and human rights defender in
Tajikistan, has been arbitrarily detained and serving a 16-year prison
sentence in reprisal for his human rights work. Six human rights
organisations, including OMCT and FIDH in the framework of the
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, call for his
immediate release.
Yesterday marks the sad anniversary of the arrest of lawyer and human
rights defender Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov in Tajikistan. First arrested on
28 May 2022, he has now spent two years behind bars, serving a
16-year-long prison sentence in retaliation for his human rights
work. The organisations issuing this statement – International
Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), the Tajikistan Civil Society
Coalition against Torture and Impunity, Helsinki Foundation for Human
Rights (HFHR, Poland), Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC), as well as
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) within the framework of the Observatory for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders – are increasingly worried about
Manuchehr’s state of health and call again on the Tajikistani
authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him.
“Manuchehr was
arrested and imprisoned for no other reason than his tireless work to
help the most vulnerable victims of human rights violations. We will not
give up fighting against his unjust sentence until he is released and
allowed to return home to his family” – Brigitte Dufour, Director of IPHR
On
9 December 2022 Tajikistan’s Supreme Court found Manuchehr guilty under
articles 187, part 2 (participation in a criminal organisation) and 307
(3), part 2 (participating in the activities of a banned organisation
due to its extremist activities) of the Criminal Code, sentencing him to
16 years’ imprisonment in a strict regime penal colony.
Manuchehr is
the Director of the Lawyers Association of Pamir (LAP), one of the few
civil society organisations in Tajikistan’s Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous
Region (GBAO) that works to promote and protect human rights.
On 25-28
November 2021, mass protests erupted in Khorog, GBAO, over the
extrajudicial killing of a young man, Gulbiddin Ziyobekov. After the
protests settled, Manuchehr joined the “Commission 44”, consisting of
representatives of local civil society and law enforcement agencies, to
investigate the events. Given his professional experience, Manuchehr was
included in the Joint Investigation Team headed by the Prosecutor
General’s Office and helped secure lawyers for victims of indiscriminate
violence during the November 2021 protests.
However, May 2022 saw
a renewed crackdown on protests in Khorog and Rushan District of GBAO.
On 28 May 2022, Manuchehr was arrested along with a dozen members of
Commission 44 for alleged “participation in a criminal association” and
“publicly calling for violent change of the constitutional order”. Their
trial began on 20 September 2022, and was held behind closed doors at a
detention facility of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS)
in Dushanbe. Following his conviction, Manuchehr was transferred to a
prison facility in the capital.
Manuchehr’s health has
deteriorated significantly in detention. In particular, he suffers from
back problems. The authorities should ensure that he has access to
adequate medical assistance for these health problems and that his
treatment complies fully with international standards as long as he
remains behind bars.
In addition to human rights NGOs, the United
Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other
international human rights experts have repeatedly raised concerns about
Manuchehr’s imprisonment and called for his release. The Tajikistani
authorities should heed to these calls, promptly release him and allow
him to reunite with his family.
** For more information on how to take action in support of Manuchehr, go here **
|
