Lawyer Abdullo Gurbati refused to defend him

According to his relatives, he cited his workload.

Photo: Internet

As reported by Radio Ozodi, lawyer Abdurakhmon Sharifov, who defended the convicted Tajik journalist Abdullo Gurbati, stated that he would no longer represent him.

According to Abdullo Gurbati’s relatives, they intended to file a repeated appeal against the court decisions made in the case; however, lawyer Abdurakhmon Sharifov stated that he could no longer assist them. Lawyer Abdurakhmon Sharifov told the journalist’s family that he had provided legal services to Gurbati for free as part of a project.

“We offered him to provide us with paid services, but he refused, citing his workload,” said one of the convicted journalist’s close relatives.

It is unclear why lawyer Abdullo Gurbati actually refused to represent his interests further. Previously, lawyers handling “sensitive” cases also refused to defend their clients under pressure from law enforcement agencies. Some human rights defenders in Tajikistan have been imprisoned due to their professional activities. In particular, Shukhrat Kudratov and Fakhiddin Zokirov, lawyers for the well-known entrepreneur and former Minister of Industry of the country Zayd Said, were sent behind bars. Additionally, to exert pressure on Iskhok Tabarov, who also represented Zayd Said’s interests, his son was imprisoned. Iskhok Tabarov could not withstand the intense pressure from the security forces and died of a heart attack.

Abdullo Gurbati was detained in the summer of 2022. On October 4, the court found Abdullo Gurbati guilty under Article 328 Part 1 (use of violence against a representative of authority), Article 330 Part 1 (insulting a representative of authority), and Part 2 of Article 307 (3) Part 2 (organizing the activities of an extremist organization) of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan and sentenced him to a total of 7 years and 6 months in prison. In his final statement, the journalist did not admit his guilt.

In the past few months, 7 journalists, bloggers, and civil activists have been detained in the country. The authorities accused them of collaborating with banned parties and movements.

After the detention of journalists and bloggers, organizations for the protection of journalists and human rights organizations appealed to the government of Tajikistan, urging the immediate release of Daleri Imomali, Abdullo Gurbati, Zavkibek Saydamini, Abdusatdor Pirmukhammadzoda, and others. However, contrary to the demands of human rights organizations, the authorities brought new charges against them.