Mother of Gulbidin Ziyobekov threatened to commit suicide

In her video address, the mother of Gulbiddin Ziyobekov stated that the incident leading to her son’s death occurred 20 days after Alisher Mirzonabotov was appointed chairman of the region, therefore, Gulbiddin’s murder was planned by him.

Photo: Internet

“Such illegal and unjust actions by the GKNB employees caused the residents of the region to carry my son’s lifeless body to Ismoil Somoni Square in Khorog.

Both I and the gathered residents wanted to know the reason for the brutal and fascist actions of the security service employees. However, the GKNB employees had previously set up an ambush in the administrative institutions of the region and opened fire on the residents, resulting in 17 people being injured and two killed,” said the mother of Gulbiddin Ziyobekov.

The mother of Gulbiddin Ziyobekov recounted that they spent three days and three nights in the central square, next to the bodies of their sons in the bitter cold, without sleep, and asked the regional government and law enforcement agencies to explain these actions, but no one came out to them.

She also emphasized that the residents gathered there are not criminals. According to her, “the youth of Badakhshan gathered there in response to my cries and the cries of another mother who was mourning over her deceased son.” She stated that the gathering of people around her in the square shows that human life still has value in GBAO, and people empathize with each other and express their human feelings.

She pointed out that her son Gulbiddin was portrayed on state television as a criminal and a terrorist, despite the investigation not being completed, and categorically rejected the authorities’ claims that her son was a criminal. She stated that no one has the right to label her son a criminal until the investigation is concluded and a court verdict is issued.

“Can you prove to me the crime my son committed? Did you participate in the process of my son’s brutal murder?” she asked those who declared Gulbiddin a criminal on state television.

The mother of Gulbiddin questioned what safety means. Answering her own question, she stated that safety is the murder of innocent people. “Allegedly, my son slapped the deputy prosecutor, although this is unproven, will you kill a person over one slap? GBAO television always reports on cut-down trees and other less serious crimes. Is a tree more valuable than a human life?” she asked.

At the end of her address, the mother of Gulbiddin Ziyobekov threatened to hang herself in Ismoil Somoni Square in Khorog if the court does not fairly consider her son’s case and establish the truth.

On November 25, Gulbiddin Ziyobekov was killed by law enforcement officers in the village of Tavdem in the Roshtkala district, with traces of 7 bullets found on his body. The brutal murder of Gulbiddin Ziyobekov sparked a wave of protests in Khorog. His mother brought her son’s body to the regional hukumat building in Ismoil Somoni Square in Khorog with the intention of asking the chairman of the region why her son was killed in such a horrific manner.

The murder of Gulbiddin Ziyobekov and his mother’s demands prompted hundreds of other protesters to join her and stage a protest, but in response, law enforcement began shooting at the crowd, resulting in two deaths and 17 injuries.

From the first day of the protests, the authorities of Tajikistan cut off internet and mobile communication in the region, particularly in the Roshtkala, Ishkashim, Rushan, Shugnan districts, and in the city of Khorog, to prevent residents from obtaining alternative information and publicizing the crimes committed by law enforcement officers in the region.

The shutdown of internet and mobile communication undermined public trust in the authorities and the central government, as the internet shutdown in the age of information, technology, and e-commerce heightened the concerns of the local population and their relatives abroad.