Leader of the opposition movement Reforms and Development of Tajikistan Sharofiddin Gadoev has been sentenced to 8.5 years in prison in Russia. On the morning of July 29, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow reviewed the case against Tajik opposition figure Sharofiddin Gadoev. The prosecutor requested to sentence Tajik opposition figure Sharofiddin Gadoev in absentia […]
Leader of the opposition movement Reforms and Development of Tajikistan Sharofiddin Gadoev has been sentenced to 8.5 years in prison in Russia.
On the morning of July 29, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow reviewed the case against Tajik opposition figure Sharofiddin Gadoev.
The prosecutor requested to sentence Tajik opposition figure Sharofiddin Gadoev in absentia to eight and a half years in a penal colony for spreading “fake” information about the Russian army.
The case against Gadoev was initiated due to a video in Tajik on the YouTube channel ISLOH TV by another Tajik opposition figure, Muhammadikbol Sadurdinov, which was released in 2022. In the video, Gadoev claimed that Russian soldiers were killing peaceful Ukrainians.
During the absentia trial against Gadoev, two citizens of Tajikistan testified as prosecution witnesses, stating that after watching the opposition figure’s video, they concluded that he was engaged in anti-Russian propaganda and aimed to stage a coup in Tajikistan.
One of the witnesses, identifying himself as a religious teacher, Khayriddin Dastakov, claimed that Gadoev was conducting anti-Russian agitation among Tajik migrants and allegedly aimed to carry out a “coup d’état in Tajikistan.” Dastakov also emphasized that “as long as Russia is strong, they will not be able to do anything.”
Sharofiddin Gadoev’s lawyer stated that his client’s guilt has not been proven.
As a result, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow found Sharofiddin Gadoev and Muhammadikbol Sadurdinov guilty of committing a crime under part “b,” “d” of paragraph 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of Russia, by a group of persons by prior agreement, on the grounds of political, ideological, racial, national, or religious hatred or enmity) and sentenced Sharofiddin Gadoev to 8.5 years in prison, while Muhammadikbol Sadurdinov was sentenced to arrest.
After the verdict against this Tajik opposition figure, there is a possibility that Tajik citizens who follow his social media pages and are in Russia may face problems.
Gadoev himself stated that the criminal case in Russia is connected to his political activities and support for Ukraine.
Tajik opposition figure and critic of the Tajik government Sharofiddin Gadoev has been living in Europe since 2015. He was granted political asylum in the Netherlands.
In 2018, he founded the opposition movement “Reforms and Development of Tajikistan.”
In February 2019, Sharofiddin Gadoev traveled to Moscow. In Moscow, he was kidnapped and taken to Tajikistan. His kidnapping became a high-profile case. After the intervention of the Netherlands and Germany, 17 days after his abduction, Tajik authorities were forced to release Sharofiddin Gadoev. On the morning of March 2, 2019, he flew to Germany on the Dushanbe-Frankfurt flight operated by Somon Air.
After returning to Europe, Gadoev stated that he was tortured in Tajikistan and forced to appear in government propaganda videos.