Political prisoner Zubaidullohi Rozik has been hospitalized in the prison hospital

The Committee for the Protection of Political Prisoners has called for his immediate release, before he dies in prison like his comrades.

Zubaidullohi Rozik, a political prisoner and former member of the Supreme Presidium of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, has been in a prison hospital for a week.

Radio Ozodi, citing a representative of the Main Department for the Execution of Criminal Sentences (GUIUN), reported that Zubaidullohi Rozik had previously suffered from heart failure and was hospitalized because his condition worsened sharply a few days ago. According to him, he was not tortured or pressured.

He also emphasized that the 82-year-old political prisoner is under medical supervision, and his relatives are receiving information about his condition.

His relatives confirmed that Zubaidullohi Rozik had heart failure even before his detention in 2015, and he had undergone treatment once.

Hisomiddin Zubaidullo, the son of Zubaidullohi Rozik, confirmed the information about his hospitalization in the prison hospital in a conversation with Azda TV and reported that his brother delivers medications to their father on the advice of doctors.

Hisomiddin also stated that he intends to write a letter to the authorities, particularly to the President of Tajikistan, requesting the early release of his father, considering his advanced age and heart problems.

Zubaidullohi Rozik, along with other high-ranking members of the IRPT, including Rahmatullohi Rajab, Hikmatulloh Saifullozoda, and Muhammadali Faizmuhammad, appealed to President Rahmon in an open letter in 2021, urging him to “review their cases in the presence of international experts and observers, as well as domestic and foreign journalists.” However, in response, the convicted prisoners in the Vakhdat prison faced punishment after the publication of the open letter to President Emomali Rahmon and were placed in a punishment cell (SHIZO).

After reports of Zubaidullohi Rozik’s hospitalization in the prison hospital emerged, the Civil Committee for the Protection of Political Hostages and Prisoners in Tajikistan issued an open letter to the authorities of Tajikistan, urging them to release the political prisoner as soon as possible so that he could receive treatment under special medical supervision.

In its letter, the Committee for the Protection of Political Prisoners expressed concern that due to the negligence of the prison administration, Zubaidullohi Rozik might share the fate of Muhammadali Faizmuhammad.

It is worth noting that on July 26, 2024, in the Vakhdat colony, Muhammadali Faizmuhammad, a political prisoner and member of the Supreme Presidium of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, died at the age of 65. It was reported that this 65-year-old political prisoner was held in unbearable conditions in the Vakhdat colony, suffered from diabetes and hypertension, and had heart problems. It had been repeatedly reported that he was tortured in prison, and there was also information about his hospitalization in the prison hospital.

Zubaidullohi Rozik, along with 12 members of the Supreme Presidium of the PIVT, was detained in September 2015. Later, on fabricated charges, the court sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

International organizations, including the UN, have repeatedly urged the authorities of Tajikistan to immediately and unconditionally release all convicted PIVT activists, but the authorities have ignored these demands.