Tajik political prisoner dies in prison

On the night of January 4, 2024, Rajabali Komilov passed away in the prison hospital of Vahdat, brother of Jannatullo Komil, one of the leaders of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT).

Rajabali Komilov died at the age of 63. He is survived by five children.

So far, the leadership of the Main Department for the Execution of Criminal Sentences (GUIUN) of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan has not commented on the death of the former head of the IRPT branch in the Danghara district.

A source close to the family of Jannatullo Komil reported to Azda TV on January 5 that before President Emomali Rahmon’s visit to Germany at the end of September, Rajabali was healthy and had no complaints. However, according to him, after the protests in Germany against Rahmon’s visit, “his condition deteriorated sharply, and for two weeks he lay almost unconscious.” The source stated that although his condition had stabilized somewhat recently, he was unable to walk or speak.

According to the source, the family believes that law enforcement agencies are involved in Rajabali Komilov’s death, “since before Rahmon went to Germany, he had no complaints.” The source also added that the authorities had previously threatened this family multiple times: “We will destroy all of you.”

The source also reported that the authorities did not allow residents of the village of Sebiston in the Danghara district, the small homeland of the deceased, to read his funeral prayer – janaza. “The authorities stated that his funeral prayer – janaza had already been read in Dushanbe, after which his body was taken directly to the cemetery and buried,” he noted.

Rajabali Komilov was detained in 2018 by officers of the National Security Committee in the Danghara district. Later, the court sentenced him to 10 years in prison on charges of membership in the IRPT. His relatives deny this accusation and assert that Rajabali cooperated with the IRPT when the activities of this party were not banned in Tajikistan.

Rajabali Komilov was serving his sentence in a prison in Dushanbe, more commonly known as “1st Soviet,” but after his health deteriorated, he was transferred to the Vahdat prison.