Former member of “Group 24” deported from Russia and detained in Tajikistan

A former opposition figure who had previously disappeared in Russia has reappeared in a detention center in Dushanbe.

Sulaymon Jobirov, a former member of the political movement “Group 24,” had been working in labor migration in the Russian city of Samara for several years. According to his relatives, the 43-year-old ex-opposition figure mysteriously disappeared two months ago on April 8.

After several weeks, they were able to determine his whereabouts – he was being held in a detention center in Dushanbe.

Radio Ozodi reports that his father traveled to Dushanbe and met with his son. It is reported that Sulaymon has a lawyer.

He was placed on the wanted list about 10 years ago on charges of collaborating with “Group 24.”

The press secretary of “Group 24,” Ubaidullo Said, told Radio Ozodi that Sulaymon Jobirov has not been a member of this organization for eight years and has no connection with them. He voluntarily left “Group 24” in 2016.

Sulaymon Jobirov is a native of the Vakhsh district and has six children. He lived in the Russian city of Samara for many years. He was previously detained in Russia in December 2014 but was released after 9 months.

Sulaymon Jobirov is not the only one who has been expelled from Russia at the request of the Tajik authorities on charges of collaborating with “Group 24.” Previously, dozens of migrants have been deported from Russia to Tajikistan and sentenced to long prison terms. Additionally, some opposition figures have disappeared abroad, and their fate remains unknown.

Among them, the leader of “Group 24,” Sukhrab Zafar, and activist of this opposition organization, Nasimjon Sharifov, mysteriously disappeared in Istanbul, Turkey, earlier this year. Their whereabouts are still unknown.