On February 16, at a press conference in Dushanbe, the Attorney General of Tajikistan, Yusuf Rahmon, stated that in 2023, more than 200 citizens of the country were extradited at their official request, accused of committing crimes. Earlier, in 2022, about 100 citizens of Tajikistan were extradited, of which 18 were accused of terrorism and extremism. The Attorney General also stated that all of them are being held criminally responsible for their involvement in various crimes.
Germany extradited members of the banned opposition “Group 24,” Bilol Kurbonaliyev and the son of Tajik opposition figure Abdullo Shamsiddin. Kurbonaliyev was part of a group of protesters during President Rahmon’s visit to Germany in September 2023, who threw eggs at his car in protest against the authorities’ oppression of dissenters. Another member of “Group 24,” Nizomidin Nasriddinov, was extradited from Belarus to Tajikistan.
Representatives of the Tajik opposition are alarmed that recently some European countries have been complying with requests from the Tajik authorities to extradite their critics and opponents, despite the threats of torture and long prison sentences they face in Dushanbe. Arrests are occurring under the pretext of combating terrorism and extremism. Kurbonaliyev and his associates face torture and other unlawful measures that the Tajik authorities employ, despite calls from democratic institutions to end illegal practices.