The lawyer met with Aslidin, but his relatives did not

It has become known that Asliddin Sharipov, the brother of Shavkat Muhammad, the director of Payom TV, is being held in the pre-trial detention center in Khujand.

Radio Ozodi, citing relatives of Asliddin Sharipov, reports that 36-year-old Asliddin Sharipov, who went missing from a Russian pre-trial detention center more than a month and a half ago, has been found in a temporary detention facility in Khujand.

It is reported that last week a lawyer was allowed to see Asliddin. The lawyer, who met with Asliddin, later told his relatives that he “is not sure if he will be able to continue providing legal services” to him.

Relatives were not allowed to visit Sharipov, but food and clothing were delivered to the pre-trial detention center.

At the same time, Shavkat Muhammad, the director of Payom TV, also reacted on his Facebook page to the news about the whereabouts of his brother.

“Does this lawyer have a name and surname? Who contacted the lawyer? Who is this relative that the media found and spoke with him?” he wrote.

“Although the situation is complicated, and speaking openly using one’s name in Tajikistan is dangerous, I would very much like to know who this man is. It is clear that he is a decent person, a HUMAN with a capital letter. The message about the establishment of my brother’s whereabouts seems questionable. God willing, it is true,” wrote Shavkat Muhammad.

Asliddin Sharipov had been living and working in Russia since 2016. Law enforcement agencies in Nizhny Tagil detained him on September 21, 2022.

According to sources from Azda TV, the United Nations Human Rights Committee recommended in September 2023 that the Russian authorities not deport Asliddin Sharipov, brother of Shavkat Muhammad, to Tajikistan. Asliddin Sharipov was detained in Russia in September 2022. However, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia ignored the recommendation of the UN Human Rights Committee and decided to hand him over to the law enforcement agencies of Tajikistan. On October 1, Asliddin Sharipov was deported.

“Payom TV” is based in Europe and is known for its critical reports on the policies of the Tajik government and coverage of the human rights crisis in the country.

It was previously reported that the international organization Norwegian Helsinki Committee called for the immediate disclosure of the whereabouts of Asliddin Sharipov, who was previously deported to Tajikistan from Russia.

In a statement by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee published on October 25 on the organization’s website, it was stated that in Tajikistan, Asliddin Sharipov, brother of Shavkat Muhammad, director of the independent information channel Payom TV, was detained after the authorities of the Russian Federation deported him to Tajikistan at the request of the Tajik regime on October 1, 2023.

On October 10, Shavkati Muhammad published an open letter on his Facebook page addressed to the Attorney General of Tajikistan, Yusuf Rahmon, stating that the Prosecutor’s Office of the Sughd region accused his brother of extremism and terrorism, initiated a criminal case under part 2 of article 307/3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan, and declared him wanted in December 2021.

In his open letter to the Attorney General, Shavkati Muhammad rejected all the accusations made against his brother. He specifically denied that his brother was a member of “Group 24” and the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, that he disseminated terrorist materials on his Facebook page, and called all these accusations slander.

In his open letter, he stated that Sharipov Aslidin is innocent, his detention is illegal, and he urged the Attorney General to fairly consider his case.

However, the authorities have not yet officially commented on the case of Aslidin Sharipov and have not responded to the appeals from his brother and international organizations, nor have they disclosed the reason for his detention or his whereabouts.