HRW: The German government has acknowledged the human rights crisis in Tajikistan

The international organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its report on January 30 called on the German government to use its leverage in negotiations with Dushanbe to urge Tajikistan to stop human rights violations, release Abdulkhoja Shamsiddin, and allow him to leave the country.

The report notes that the German authorities deported Tajik asylum seekers, who were sentenced to imprisonment upon their return to Tajikistan.

According to the organization, last year the German authorities deported Tajik political activists Abdulkhoja Shamsiddin and Bilal Kurbonaliyev, who were asylum seekers in Germany. Currently, Abdulkhoja Shamsiddin and Bilal Kurbonaliyev are in detention in Tajikistan. Germany should determine whether these two face a risk of torture or inhumane treatment.

The report also highlights some details of Abdulkhoja Shamsiddin’s case. The 33-year-old activist was deported to Tajikistan on January 18, 2023. Upon arrival, he was detained by security services. Two months later, he was found guilty of attempting to violently change the constitutional order and sentenced to seven years in prison. During the unfair trial, no credible evidence was presented, and after his detention, Abdulkhoja Shamsiddin was held for more than two months in a dark detention facility and subjected to torture and ill-treatment, resulting in weight loss and denial of medical assistance, the report states.

The German government acknowledged the human rights crisis in Tajikistan last year in response to a parliamentary inquiry regarding Shamsiddin’s case. “Fundamental freedoms of citizens, especially freedom of speech and freedom of religion, are severely restricted in Tajikistan,” the statement says. Members of the Islamic Renaissance Party are regularly “imprisoned and sentenced to long terms,” the government notes.

“Several members of the Bundestag have taken up Abdulkhoja Shamsiddin’s case. The German government must urge Tajikistan to stop human rights violations, release Shamsiddin, and allow him to leave the country. Tajikistan is currently seeking closer ties with Europe, so Germany has leverage in negotiations with Dushanbe if it chooses to use it,” the Human Rights Watch report states.

In recent years, Human Rights Watch has presented over 470 reports on human rights violations in Tajikistan to the international community. The organization notes that the government of Emomali Rahmon is autocratic and systematically violates human rights.

72-year-old Emomali Rahmon has been at the helm of Tajikistan, holding the position of president since 1992. His long tenure distinguishes him as the oldest head of state in the region, including Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. At the same time, Rahmon often becomes the target of criticism due to allegations of human rights violations. He is accused of employing various methods to consolidate his power, including restrictions on political freedoms, control over the media, and persecution of opposition groups.