Group 24 will continue the fight against Rahmon’s “bloodthirsty regime”

The political movement “Group 24” condemned the sentence against the leader of this movement, Sukhrab Zafar, and organization member Nasimjon Sharipov to long prison terms in its statement.

The opposition organization noted in its statement that this sentence was issued “under conditions of pressure, disregard for human rights, and complete slander, and is yet another vivid example of the suppression of political freedoms and the legitimate rights of people in the country.”

“Group 24” emphasized in its statement that the main goal of these sentences is to exert pressure on the political movement “Group 24.”

The organization stated that the political movement “Group 24” will continue its struggle against “this bloodthirsty regime.”

“We will continue our efforts to protect the rights of citizens and political freedoms until justice, freedom, and truth prevail in Tajikistan!” the statement reads.

The political movement “Group 24” called on the international community, human rights organizations, and the people of Tajikistan to seriously respond to the case of the organization’s leader Sukhrab Zafar and the representative of the movement in Turkey, Nasimjon Sharipov, and to exert pressure on the Tajik government to respect human rights and social justice.

The leader of the political movement “Group 24,” Sukhrab Zafar, went missing in Istanbul on the morning of March 10 of this year. Activist and member of “Group 24,” Nasimjon Sharipov, also went missing on February 23, 2024. Initially, nothing was known about their whereabouts.

The “Group 24” website then reported that the two political activists, the representative and leader of the political movement “Group 24” — Nasimjon Sharipov and Sukhrab Zafar — were kidnapped and illegally extradited from Turkey to Tajikistan.

Almost six months later, on August 9, the Attorney General of Tajikistan, Yusuf Rahmon, announced at a press conference that Sukhrab Zafar and Nasimjon Sharipov are in Dushanbe, the investigation into their case is nearly complete, and the case will be sent to court. However, the Attorney General did not explain how they ended up in Tajikistan and what charges were brought against them.

Both activists were kidnapped in Turkey — a country where the founder and leader of “Group 24,” Umarali Kuvvatov, was killed in 2015.

The Dushanbe city court sentenced the leader of the political movement “Group 24,” Sukhrab Zafar, to 30 years in prison. His associate, the representative of this organization in Turkey, Nasimjon Sharipov, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The court session took place on October 10 in a closed session at Detention Center No. 1 in Dushanbe.

A number of human rights and political organizations, including the National Alliance of Tajikistan, the opposition movement “Reforms and Development of Tajikistan,” and the Civil Committee for the Protection of Political Hostages and Prisoners of Tajikistan, in their statements condemned the verdict of the Dushanbe City Court regarding Sukhrabi Zafar and Nasimjon Sharipov and called on the authorities of Tajikistan to immediately and unconditionally release these political activists.