The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan is in Italy seeking the extradition of refugees

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan, Ramazon Rahimzoda, discussed the issue of the detention and extradition of wanted persons to Tajikistan during a meeting with the Minister of Internal Affairs of Italy, Matteo Piantedosi.

The meeting between the heads of the Ministries of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan and Italy took place on April 23, 2024, in Rome. The strengthening of cooperation in the areas of preventing and effectively combating terrorism, extremism, transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, cybercrime, information exchange, and promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan was also discussed at the meeting.

During the meeting, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan, Ramazon Rahimzoda, stated that “some of the criminals have gone to Europe, including the Italian Republic, under the pretext of seeking asylum and have gone into hiding.” He also noted that “joint cooperation among law enforcement agencies can contribute to bringing these individuals to justice.”

The Tajik minister did not mention anyone specifically. However, in European countries, mainly dissidents and opponents of the current regime in Tajikistan have found refuge, and the Tajik authorities consider them criminals for criticizing the government.

It is also noted that after the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Italy in the field of security, a visit by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Italy to Tajikistan is planned. The exact date of this visit is still unknown.

Since April 22, the authoritarian President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, has been on an official visit to the Italian Republic.

During the visit, Rahmon met with the President and Prime Minister of Italy and signed seven new documents.

Emomali Rahmon visited one of the European countries committed to democratic values, while international human rights organizations have repeatedly called the government of Tajikistan authoritarian, criticizing it for violating the rights and freedoms of residents, lack of freedom of speech, and the hundreds of political prisoners in the country’s jails.

Earlier, the Tajik opposition, in light of his visit to this European country, issued a statement calling on the authorities of Italy and other EU countries to refrain from hosting the authoritarian president and dictator and shaking his hand, and to impose personal sanctions against him.