Mysterious death of the head of the regional branch of the PIVT in the colony

Political prisoner and head of the regional branch of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan in Khorog, Sherik Karamkhudoev, has died in prison.

According to journalist Anora Sarkorova on her Facebook page, the 55-year-old Pamiri political prisoner Sherik Karamkhudoev died on November 30 in correctional colony No. 7. His sentence was set to end in just a few weeks.

According to the journalist, a few hours before his death, Sherik Karamkhudoev felt a sudden weakness, severe nausea, and began vomiting, but he did not receive the necessary medical assistance. Relatives of the prisoner reported that the day before he felt satisfactory and did not complain about his health. Cellmates also confirmed that Karamkhudoev did not complain about any deterioration in his condition.

The death of the political prisoner occurred just days before the end of his sentence. His sudden passing seemed suspicious to activists and representatives of the Tajik opposition, leading to theories about the deliberate elimination of the opposition figure.

The Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan expressed condolences regarding the death of the party member.

“Karamkhudoev is a martyr, a political prisoner who spent 14 years of his life behind bars and was supposed to be released. But the authorities fear the release of such people and do not allow them to be free. Therefore, they eliminated him,” the statement said.

Sherik Karamkhudoev was detained on July 24, 2012, during an armed special operation in Khorog aimed at capturing the alleged murderers of General GKNB Abdullo Nazarov.

In 2013, he was found guilty of a number of charges that he and his relatives claimed were fabricated: “organizing a criminal organization,” “organizing mass riots,” “resisting authorities,” and “illegal possession of weapons.” He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Karamkhudoev and his relatives stated that he was subjected to torture and beatings after his arrest.

At that time, the IRPT called his detention and sentence politically motivated and linked to the implementation of Protocol 32-20.

This is already the sixth case of deaths of natives of Badakhshan in Tajikistan’s prisons in recent months. Earlier, there were also reports of the death of the well-known 61-year-old caliph — a religious figure from the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) Muzaffar Davlatmirov, who died in Yavan prison, 50-year-old public activist from the Rushan district Kulmamad Pallaev, 35-year-old Aslan Gulobov from Khorog, 39-year-old Eronsho Mamadrahimov, and 67-year-old Bogsho Immatshoev in February. Some of them were sentenced to life imprisonment.

International human rights organizations have repeatedly called on the Tajik authorities to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the deaths of political prisoners from Badakhshan. However, Tajik authorities have not officially commented on these cases, and neither the media nor the families of the deceased prisoners have been able to obtain information from the authorities.