Tajiks held a protest in London

Today in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, a group of Tajiks held a protest against recent events in Khorog.

Photo: Internet

The protests are a continuation of a wave of recent protests in the city of Khorog in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan, and in Moscow, the capital of Russia.

The protests in London are planned as a relay of protest actions in cities across the USA and Europe, and will continue until the authorities leave the residents of Khorog and the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region alone.

Additionally, on November 27 at 11:00 in Vienna, the capital of Austria, there will be a peaceful protest by citizens of our country in front of the Tajikistan embassy regarding the incident in Khorog.

During the protests in Khorog, instead of answering residents’ questions, law enforcement opened fire on the protesters, resulting in at least one death, Tutisho Amirshoev, and Gulnazar Murodbekov and 14 others were injured. This morning, Gulnazar Murodbekov also died. Thus, the death toll has reached three.

Last night, a large group of Tajiks, especially those from GBAO, held a protest in front of the Tajikistan embassy in Moscow. They called on the embassy to convey their demands to the government to restore internet and communication with the region, as well as to arrest and punish those responsible.

As reported by Azda TV, a source from Khorog stated that on the night of November 24 to 25, a resident of the Roshtkalin district of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, Gulbiddin Ziyobekov, 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 assistant prosecutor A. Amirzoda hostage on February 1, 2020, and tortured and beat him for eight hours in the villages of Andzhim and Bardzhanhal. Criminal cases were initiated by the GBAO prosecutor’s office against Ziyobekov G. Z. and his accomplices. However, Ziyobekov and his accomplices did not appear to testify in the case of the beating of the prosecutor’s office employee, despite repeated summons 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.