Protest in Khorog turned violent

Recent videos published on social media from the city of Khorog in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region show that the protest action in the center of the region has escalated into violence.

Photo: Internet

The footage shows a group of residents carrying the body of Gulbiddin Ziyobekov, wrapped in a shroud, in search of answers to their questions and to find out why the young man was killed. However, instead of listening to them and responding to their inquiries, representatives of the authorities began shooting at them.

It is still unclear whether real bullets were used or rubber bullets to disperse the crowd of protesters.

As reported by Azda TV, a source from Khorog stated that on the night of November 24 to 25, Gulbiddin Ziyobekov, a resident of the Roshtkalin district of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, was shot in the head by regional prosecutor’s office employees in his own home.

However, the press center of the GBAO prosecutor’s office stated in its announcement that Ziyobekov was wanted, had armed resistance during his arrest, and was detained. The authorities have not commented on his death.

“Ziyobekov and several other young men took hostage the assistant prosecutor of the Roshtkalin district, A. Amirzoda, on February 1, 2020, and tortured and beat him for eight hours in the villages of Andzhim and Bardzhanhal. In connection with this case, criminal cases were initiated against Ziyobekov G. Z. and his accomplices by the GBAO prosecutor’s office. However, Ziyobekov and his accomplices did not appear to testify in the case of the beating of the prosecutor’s office employee, despite multiple summonses from the investigative authorities. Gulbiddin Ziyobekov was declared wanted,” the press center of the GBAO prosecutor’s office reported.

A source from Azda TV in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region rejected the authorities’ accusations and stated that the authorities want to subjugate the residents of the region using violence and fabricated criminal cases.