Tajik authorities urged to immediately cease pressure on the families of opposition members

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee has called for an immediate halt to the repression against the relatives of opposition activists in exile

In a statement published on October 25 on the organization’s website, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee stated that in Tajikistan, the relatives of opposition activists in exile have spent the last two weeks without access to electricity, as the authorities cut off power to their homes in early October.

“When the authorities of Tajikistan impose extrajudicial punishments on the family members of critics in exile, they not only practice the principle of guilt by association and violate all principles of the rule of law, but also threaten fundamental freedoms within the European Union,” said Berit Lindeman, Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.

Lindeman urged the authorities of Tajikistan to immediately cease any forms of pressure on the family members of opposition figures and called on Tajikistan’s democratic partners to hold the Tajik authorities accountable.

It was previously reported that on October 11, employees of the Farhor district’s electric networks cut off electricity in the home of 72-year-old Oiyshamo Abdulloeva, the mother of Sharofiddin Gadoev, deputy of the opposition coalition National Alliance of Tajikistan.

Oiyshamo Abdulloeva told the media that she has no debts for electricity and pays her bills on time every month. However, the electric network employees stated: “Your son spoke in Germany, criticized the president, so this is an order from above.”

Sharofiddin Gadoev himself informed the Norwegian Helsinki Committee that on October 20, GKNB officers were pursuing his family in Tajikistan. According to Gadoev, GKNB officers came to his brother’s house and threatened his family, claiming they were monitoring the activities of their sons online. Their sons are labor migrants in Russia.

Also, on October 12, employees of the electric networks department in the Vose district cut off power to the home of Oiysha Mirzoeva, the stepmother of the chairman of the political movement “Group 24” Sukhrab Zafar and the sister of the convicted general Ghaffor Mirzoev.

According to her, the head of the district’s electric networks department explained to her that “this is an order from above” and that she should present her complaints to the district leadership.

The next day, on October 13, police and electric network department employees came to the home of Farhod Odinaev’s mother in the village of Turdibobo in the city of Gissar and cut the electric wires. She spent several days without water, light, and heat, and then left for Russia.

Also, in the Asht district of Tajikistan, the authorities cut off electricity in the homes of three uncles of opposition activist Ilkhomjon Yokubov, head of the Central Asia Migrants Association. All three uncles of Yokubov were detained. They were released only after recording a video publicly condemning Yokubov.

In a conversation with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Tajik opposition activists stated that a large number of relatives of opposition members have suffered from targeted power outages, but most of them preferred not to speak publicly due to fear of further repression and acts of retaliation by the Tajik authorities.

The authorities have not commented on the power outages affecting the relatives of opposition activists.

However, observers believe that the authorities are exerting pressure on the relatives of the opposition in response to protests and the egg-throwing incident at the convoy of Emomali Rahmon in Germany.

On September 28 and 29, the Tajik opposition organized protests in front of the Tajik Embassy in Germany and the residence of the German president in Berlin during the visit of Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon to Germany.

During the protests, activists from the “Group 24” threw eggs at the convoy of the President of Tajikistan, particularly at Emomali Rahmon’s car.

Following these demonstrations, law enforcement agencies in Tajikistan began a wave of pressure, threats, insults, detentions, and abductions of people considered to be crimes under the country’s laws, targeting the relatives of opposition activists, especially those who participated in these protests. Even elderly individuals were detained, with some held for 2-3 days. The oldest of those detained was 81 years old, while the youngest was only one and a half years old.