An 18-year-old young man was sentenced in Khatlon

A court in the Khatlon region sentenced an 18-year-old young man to prison for his involvement in “Salafism.”

On June 9 of this year, Radio Ozodi, citing relatives of Osif Sanavbarov, reported that the court hearing in his case took place four days ago. Relatives or his lawyer were not allowed to attend the session. As a result, the court in the Abdurakhmoni Jomi district sentenced the young man to seven years in prison.

Details of the case and comments from official authorities have not yet been made public.

Meanwhile, Osif Sanavbarov’s relatives reported that the young man studied in the city of Kulyab and was detained in March when he came home to visit his mother.

It is reported that the young man’s father passed away a long time ago, and currently, only his mother visits him in the pre-trial detention center. Law enforcement agencies informed his mother that he is a “Salafist,” but his relatives do not believe these accusations.

However, despite their conviction of the young man’s innocence, his relatives stated that they do not intend to file an appeal, as they do not believe that Sanavbarov’s case will be considered fairly.

It is important to note that in the past month, this is already the second case in which a court in Tajikistan has sentenced several individuals to imprisonment on charges of membership in the “Salafism” movement. Earlier, in March of this year, a court in Dushanbe also sentenced three residents of the capital on similar charges.

The Supreme Court of Tajikistan declared the activities of the “Salafism” movement prohibited in January 2009. Later, by a decision of the Supreme Court on December 14, 2014, this movement was recognized as extremist. Following these court decisions, hundreds of people in Tajikistan have been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment on charges of membership in this movement.

A number of international human rights organizations criticize the authorities of Tajikistan for these laws. According to them, under the pretext of combating extremism and terrorism, Tajik judicial authorities have sentenced hundreds of religious citizens and dissenters to long prison terms on fabricated charges.