Authorities want to confiscate the house of the brother of a Tajik opposition figure

The authorities of the Zafarabad district intend to confiscate the land plot of Tajik opposition figure Salim Sultanzada, on which his brother built a house.

The spokesperson for the National Alliance of Tajikistan, Salim Sultanzada, reported on his Facebook page on May 22 that the authorities are once again putting pressure on his relatives in Tajikistan.

According to him, the chairman of the Zafarabad district in the Sughd region, Ismoilzoda Zufarkhon, has decided to evict his brother Isoboev Khalimjon, his wife, and their two children from the house where they live.

Ismoilzoda Zufarkhon has filed a petition with the district court to evict the opposition figure’s brother.

“Based on the objection of the prosecutor of the Zafarabad district, the decree of the chairman of the Zafarabad community No. 58 dated June 6, 2008, on the allocation of the land plot in the name of citizen Isoboev Salim, is deemed illegal and was canceled by the chairman of this community on May 4, 2024,” noted Salim Sultanzada.

The chairman of the Zafarabad district claims in his petition that this house is an “abandoned and illegal construction” and by the decision of the district chairman dated May 15 of this year, it has passed into state ownership.

Ismoilzoda also noted that Salim Sultanzada’s relatives do not comply with the authorities’ demands and do not intend to leave this house, and he asked the judge of the Zafarabad district to evict them from this house without providing alternative housing.

However, in a conversation with Azda TV, Salim Sultanzada refuted the district head’s claims about the illegal allocation of land and stated that this decision was confirmed by both architects and the district chairman in 2008 and is not illegal.

The spokesperson for the National Alliance of Tajikistan says that he transferred this land plot to his brother when he was living in his mother’s house, and his brother’s wife was ill. Since then, his brother and his family have been living in the house built on this land plot for over 15 years.

Salim Sultanzada emphasized that there was nothing illegal in acquiring the land plot and building the house; the authorities simply want to pressure him by evicting his brother from his own home so that he would abandon his political activities and stop criticizing the government.

This is not the first time that the authorities have put pressure on the relatives and close ones of Salim Sultanzada. Previously, law enforcement agencies detained and interrogated his mother, brother, and relatives for several hours.

The Zafarabad district court will consider the chairman’s lawsuit on May 24 of this year.