Relatives of the journalist were not allowed to see him

The case of journalist Zavkibek Saidamini has been sent to the court of the Ismoili Somoni district in Dushanbe.

Photo: Internet

According to Radio Ozodi, the authorities suspect the journalist of collaborating with the Islamic Revival Party and the opposition movement “Group 24,” but the journalist categorically denies the accusations.

A criminal case has been initiated against Zavkibek Saidamini under Article 307 (3) part 2 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan – “participation in the activities of extremist organizations,” and he faces a prison sentence of five to eight years.

The mother of the detained journalist stated that she has not seen her son for three months. “Last Saturday, I was at the reception of the Minister of Internal Affairs. I was told that a meeting was impossible since the case has been sent to court. And in court, they didn’t even talk to me,” she reported.

Earlier, representatives of the IRPT and the political movement “Group 24” stated that Zavkibek Saidamini did not maintain ties with them and was never a member of these parties.

The press secretary of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, Bobodjon Kayumov, categorically denied reports of Zavkibek Saidamini’s collaboration with the IRPT in a conversation with Azda TV. According to him, recently the authorities have been detaining civil activists, and if they cannot bring any charges against them, they “accuse them of ties with the IRPT.” Although the IRPT has not had any activities in Central Asia since 2015.

In recent months, seven journalists, bloggers, and civil activists have been detained in the country. The authorities accused them of collaborating with banned parties and movements.

It was previously reported that on October 4, Abdullo Gurbati was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison.

After the detention of journalists and bloggers, organizations for the protection of journalists and human rights organizations appealed to the government of Tajikistan, urging the immediate release of Daleri Imomali, Abdullo Gurbati, Zavkibek Saidamini, Abdusatyor Pirmukhammadzoda, and others. However, the authorities, contrary to the demands of human rights organizations, brought new charges against them.