Two international organizations called for the release of Buzurgmehr Yurov

International human rights organizations IPHR and CIVICUS demanded the immediate release of convicted human rights defender Buzurgmehr Yorov.

The international human rights organization IPHR and the international non-profit organization CIVICUS, in their joint statement published on the eighth anniversary of the unjust detention of Tajik human rights defender Buzurgmehr Yorov, called on the country’s authorities to immediately release him and unconditionally drop all charges against him.

In a statement published on September 27 of this year, IPHR Director Brigitte Dufour described the detention of human rights defender Buzurgmehr Yorov as “arbitrary,” noting that it has nothing to do with any criminal offense, “but is clearly a reprisal for defending members of the political opposition in Tajikistan.”

“It is time for the international community to pay attention to Yorov’s case and call on Tajikistan to immediately release him and drop all charges against him,” the statement said.

Buzurgmehr Yorov was detained in 2015 while defending detained members of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan in court.

Later, the court sentenced Buzurgmehr Yorov to 28 years in prison on various unfounded charges, including insulting representatives of the authorities, disrespecting the court, and insulting the President of Tajikistan. Subsequently, under the “Amnesty Law,” his sentence was reduced by 6 years in 2019 and by another 4 years in 2021.

However, in July 2023, the court added another ten years to his prison sentence based on fabricated charges of fraud. The judicial process did not meet international standards.

David Koud, Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at CIVICUS, stated that the sentence against Buzurgmehr is judicial arbitrariness, the sentence is excessively harsh and unjustified, and it should be immediately overturned.

The statement from the international organizations notes that 52-year-old Buzurgmehr Yorov has frequently faced intimidation and mistreatment in prison, and he has been denied access to lawyers.

In 2019, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared Buzurgmehr’s detention arbitrary and demanded his immediate release. However, the government of Emomali Rahmon ignored the UN Working Group’s demands and refused to comply with its international obligations.

CIVICUS and IPHR stated that they are including Buzurgmehr Yorov in the “Stand As My Witness” campaign aimed at the release of imprisoned activists and human rights defenders worldwide.

Experts from these international human rights organizations believe that Buzurgmehr’s imprisonment is part of the system of repression in Tajikistan.

“The authorities brutally suppressed peaceful protests, forcibly disappeared members of the political opposition, closed media websites, and persecuted human rights defenders, lawyers, bloggers, and journalists,” the statement said.

Earlier this year, CIVICUS Monitor included Tajikistan in its ranking of “closed countries.” This was the worst rating for the country, as it was placed alongside Turkmenistan, China, and Syria.

The international organization International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) is an independent non-governmental organization founded in 2008 and based in Brussels.

The international organization CIVICUS positions itself as “a global alliance aimed at strengthening the actions of citizens and civil society worldwide.” The organization’s headquarters is located in Johannesburg, South Africa, with offices in Geneva and New York.