The case of the human rights defender has been referred to the UN

The case of Tajik human rights defender Saidnuriddin Shamsiddinov, who has been sentenced, has been submitted for consideration to the UN. This was reported by Freedom Now.

Photo: Internet

On April 21 of this year, the international human rights organization Freedom Now and the international law firm Proskauer Rose LLP, based in New York, submitted a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of the sentenced human rights defender Saidnuriddin Shamsiddinov, who received a 9-year and 6-month prison sentence.

The statement notes that Shamsiddinov suffered solely for peacefully expressing his opinion and that his sentence is a gross violation by the authorities of Tajikistan of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Freedom Now reports that the charges against Shamsiddinov were fabricated by the authorities out of revenge for his human rights and anti-corruption activities, as well as due to his activity on social media.

According to Radio Ozodi, Adam Ledmat, a legal officer at Freedom Now, stated: “The authorities of Tajikistan, through fabricated charges, obstructed his identification of corrupt officials. We are confident that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will conclude that the authorities grossly violated Shamsiddinov’s rights and will demand his immediate release.”

The human rights defender and former judicial executor Saidnuriddin Shamsiddinov regularly exposed corrupt actions of certain prosecutors and judges on social media.

The authorities retaliated by accusing him of illegal land sales, fraud, spreading false information, and collaborating with the “Group 24.” Later, “Group 24” issued a statement rejecting any cooperation or connections with Shamsiddinov.

Shamsiddinov himself also stated that the charges against him were fabricated due to his human rights activities. He acknowledged that he wrote exposing materials about judges and prosecutors in the Vakhsh district on social media.

Previously, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention demanded the unconditional and immediate release of 13 imprisoned members of the PIVT, including Zaid Saidov, Mahmadruzi Iskandarov, well-known human rights defender Buzurgmehr Yorov, Maksud Ibrokhimov, and others. However, the authorities of Tajikistan ignored the demands of the UN Working Group and have not yet fulfilled any of the requirements.