70-year-old man received a prison sentence for a “like”

The court in the city of Isfara, Sogd Region, sentenced 70-year-old resident Kamoliddin Sharofov to 5 years in prison on charges of extremism.

The sentence for former teacher Kamoliddin Sharofov was handed down on August 7, and on August 8, he was transferred to a colony in Khujand.

Relatives of Kamoliddin Sharofov reported that the elderly man was punished for “likes” on posts from opposition and banned groups and for watching their videos. However, the pensioner denies all charges against him.

Radio Ozodi, citing its sources, reports that Kamoliddin Sharofov did not have money for legal services, so he did not have a lawyer. For this reason, his relatives decided not to appeal the court’s decision to a higher instance.

During his final statement in court, the 70-year-old retired teacher complained about his health and stated that he needed treatment. The judge responded that he would receive treatment in the colony.

In early May of this year, Kamoliddin Sharofov got into an argument with employees of the Surkh jamoat administration in Isfara and threatened to file a complaint with Radio Ozodi and the “Isloh TV” portal regarding the unlawful actions of the employees.

Shortly after that, he was detained. According to the investigation, Kamoliddin Sharofov was allegedly subscribed to the “Isloh TV” portal on social media, repeatedly liked their posts, and shared videos from this opposition site.

This is not the first case where law enforcement agencies detain citizens of Tajikistan for following programs from “Isloh TV” or other opposition sites and liking their materials.

Earlier, on June 12, the Sogd Region court sentenced a 42-year-old resident of Isfara to 18 years in prison for collaborating with the “Isloh.net” portal.

On June 14, the head of the “Isloh.net” portal, Muhammadikboli Sadriddin, told Azda TV that he had never collaborated with this woman.

“This woman has never contacted us or sent any information. This is yet another fabricated accusation by the authorities against ordinary citizens of the country. The authorities are punishing some innocent citizens once again to intimidate the residents,” he said.

In December of last year, the court of the Khatlon Region sentenced the head of the education department of the Panj district, Mavluda Boymurodzoda, former employee of the land management enterprise Mamad Sheraliyev, as well as operator and correspondent of the state television channel “Jahonnamo” — Abdurakhmon Izzatmandov and Jalol Zoidov to several years in prison on charges of collaborating with the “Isloh.net” portal.

Additionally, dozens of others were also imprisoned on these charges, but their names were not disclosed.