Proposal for the construction of schools and medical points in exchange for the release of political prisoners

An opposition figure and critic of the regime of Emomali Rahmon has proposed to build dozens of schools and medical points in exchange for the release of political prisoners from Tajik prisons.

Abdusattor Boboev, head of the Committee for the Protection of Political Hostages and Prisoners in Tajikistan and a member of the Supreme Presidium of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, published an open letter to the government of Tajikistan, the Executive Office of the President, and relevant authorities of Tajikistan on his Facebook page.

“I respectfully appeal to you, if you release 30 political prisoners from Tajik prisons, in exchange I will build 15 modern schools and 15 medical points in remote villages of the country, where they need schools or medical points,” the open letter from Boboev states.

He also wrote that he would prepare plans, projects, and cost estimates for these facilities and present them to the Ministry of Science and Education and the Ministry of Health of Tajikistan.

Under this post by Abdusattor Boboev on Facebook, many users supported his initiative and also offered to contribute to this cause. Some users even expressed their willingness to build gyms and lay water pipes in remote villages of the country in exchange for the release of political prisoners or changing their sentences to house arrest.

Boboev is currently a refugee in one of the European countries. On Tuesday, May 21, in a conversation with Azda TV, he stated that this proposal was his personal initiative, and he only informed his deputies and advisors in the Committee for the Protection of Political Hostages and Prisoners in Tajikistan about it.

When asked why he made such a proposal to the government right now, he replied:

“We have always thought about the prisoners, we have been striving for their release for years through political and legal methods, and finally, I made such a proposal to the government.”

The chairman of the Committee for the Protection of Political Hostages and Prisoners noted that the construction of 15 schools and 15 medical centers would mainly rely on the residents of the country. He reported that after announcing this initiative, dozens of residents of the country called him and said that if the government released the political prisoners, they would help him in the construction of these facilities.

The chairman of the committee for the protection of political prisoners emphasized that if the government of Tajikistan truly cares about the prosperity of the country and the improvement of the lives of its residents, it should accept this proposal, as this initiative is aimed at improving the lives of residents in remote villages suffering from a lack of schools and medical institutions, as well as the release of innocent prisoners.

It is important to note that the regime of Emomali Rahmon has imprisoned hundreds of dissenters and dissidents on fabricated charges. International organizations and Western countries have repeatedly called for the release of all political prisoners, but the government of Tajikistan always ignores these calls.