The Basmanny District Court of Moscow issued arrest warrants for two Tajik opposition members

The Basmanny District Court of Moscow issued arrest warrants for two Tajik opposition figures, Sharofiddin Gadoev and Muhammadikbol Saduriddinov (Sadriddin), initiating criminal cases against them for spreading “fakes” about the war in Ukraine. Hearings on the absentia arrest of the two politicians, as reported by “Mediazona,” took place on the same day at the end of May. “The exact reason for the persecution of Gadoev and Sadriddin is unknown. Both opposition figures have been put on the wanted list in Russia,” the publication writes.

Sharofiddin Gadoev, deputy head of the banned National Alliance of Tajikistan – an organization uniting opposition groups and movements abroad, told Radio Ozodi on July 1 that back in August of last year, Russian authorities informed his mother that a case had been opened against him. According to him, this is related to his political activities, especially his statements in support of Ukraine.

“I have repeatedly received messages on social media with threats warning me not to speak in support of Ukraine, otherwise a case would be opened against me. There were even more serious threats – that security officials could kill me in Europe. The case opened against me in Russia is primarily related to my trip to Ukraine in November 2022 and my condemnation of the Russian invasion of that country, as I have repeatedly called on Tajiks to refrain from joining the Russian army that is fighting in Ukraine,” said Sharofiddin Gadoev.

In his opinion, the criminal case in Russia may create obstacles for him in traveling to certain countries, but overall “it should not affect his political activities.”

Sharofiddin Gadoev and Muhammadikbol Sadriddin, opposition activists against whom criminal cases have been initiated in Tajikistan as well, have received asylum in Europe. Muhammadikbol Sadriddin is the founder and editor-in-chief of the website “Isloh,” which sharply criticizes the policies of the Tajik government.

Muhammadikbol Sadriddin told Radio Ozodi that the decision of the Russian court was possibly made to intimidate migrants from any interaction with the opposition. “I rarely spoke about the situation in Ukraine or the war. Here, the role of the Tajik authorities is more noticeable, who likely requested to mention our names so that migrants would be afraid to contact us. After all, we only supported the migrants,” noted the interlocutor.

According to him, the Russian court’s decision will not affect his activities, and he will continue to urge Tajiks not to agree to fight in Ukraine.

In previous years, Russian security forces detained dozens of Tajik opposition figures and deported them to Dushanbe. In particular, in February 2019, Sharofiddin Gadoev was detained in Moscow during his trip to Russia and, according to him, was then forcibly deported to Dushanbe, where he faced threats and torture. Under pressure from the governments of the Netherlands and Germany, Gadoev was released in March 2019 and returned to the Netherlands.