“Arbobzoda’s Mafia” in the Ayni District

Residents of the village of Marzich in the Ayni district of the Sughd region have filed a complaint with the president, the Attorney General, the State Committee for National Security, and other high authorities regarding the illegal actions and arbitrariness of prosecutor Arbobzoda (Kulmakhmad) Muhammad Khudja.

Photo: Internet

A user named Shokhin Fondaryo posted a statement on his Facebook page on behalf of the residents of the district. It states that Arbobzoda has been abusing his official position for 15 years, subjecting all residents of the village of Marzich to pressure and keeping everyone in fear.

People complained that Arbobzoda, along with his relatives who work in the district department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Drug Control Agency, have organized a “mafia structure” of officials from government bodies. They have subordinated all residents to their will through pressure and threats of “fines.”

According to the residents of the Ayni district, Arbobzoda does not allow individuals with higher education and graduates of law faculties to work in law enforcement agencies. He only hires his relatives and acquaintances.

“We, the youth of the Ayni district, especially the residents of the village of Marzich, work in the Russian Federation, and we can no longer tolerate the threats from the relatives of this family,” the authors of the statement write.

It is reported that Arbobzoda Muhammad Khudja has acquired about 8,000 to 10,000 heads of livestock during his tenure as prosecutor. He also owns a total of sixteen apartments in Dushanbe, Penjikent, Khujand, and Istiklol, three luxurious three-story palaces in his native village, and a house on Zarafshan-1 street, registered in the names of his relatives.

In 2015, President Emomali Rahmon dismissed Arbobzoda from his position by decree, but later he managed to obtain higher positions. His brother Shukhrat Khudja, who worked at the Drug Control Agency under the president, was also detained twice for bribery but later received a higher position.

This is not the first case of arbitrariness by high-ranking government officials in Tajikistan. Dozens of high-ranking officials are detained each year on charges of bribery and fraud, most of whom either go free or are promoted again. “No one intends to stop their arbitrariness,” the statement says.