Why are the authorities hiding the whereabouts of Abdullohi Shamsiddin?

Despite numerous appeals from relatives and friends, Tajik law enforcement agencies have not reported on the missing Abdullokhi Shamsiddin.

Photo: Internet

Relatives of Abdullokhi Shamsiddin sent several official letters to the Tajik authorities, urging them to provide information about his whereabouts. However, none of the agencies responded to these letters.

Copies of the letters sent by Abdullokhi Shamsiddin’s relatives to the Tajik authorities have come into the possession of Azda TV. These letters were sent to the authorities of Tajikistan a month ago, but Abdullokhi’s family has not yet received a response.

On January 26, 2023, Sumaya Pirova, Abdullokhi Shamsiddin’s wife, sent an official letter to the Human Rights Commissioner in Tajikistan, Bobozoda Umed, and the Attorney General, Yusuf Rahmon. In her letter, she called for assistance in her husband’s case. However, she has not yet received any response.

Photo: Internet

After Sumaya Pirova’s letters went unanswered, his father, Shamsiddin Saidov, one of the leaders of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, sent an official letter to Attorney General Yusuf Rahmon on February 6, urging him to provide information about Abdullokhi Shamsiddin’s whereabouts. But he has still not received a response.

“I am Shamsiddin Saidov, the father of Abdullokhi Shamsiddin, born on March 16, 1990, who was deported from Germany to Tajikistan on January 18, 2023, on a Turkish Airlines flight, and to this day, that is, February 6, 2023, there is no information about his whereabouts or health condition.”

“After arriving in Tajikistan, Abdullokhi did not exit the airport with other passengers, he was detained and taken away in an unknown direction. The silence of the GKNB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan, the fact that no charges have been brought against Abdullokhi for any crimes raises many speculations and theories. He suffers from asthma, requires constant treatment, and must be under medical supervision, which further heightens my concern.”

“In light of the situation, I demand that the Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan, and especially you, the Attorney General, prevent such violations of the law and officially publish information about my son Abdullokhi Shamsiddin’s health condition, his whereabouts, and the reason for his detention,” writes Shamsiddin Saidov in his letter.

Earlier, a group of opposition representatives and dissenters living in European countries launched a flash mob with the hashtag #Where_Is_Abdullokhi_Shamsiddin? on social media, where they publish photos of Abdullokhi Shamsiddin with calls to free him and provide information about his whereabouts. The flash mob was initiated to draw the attention of the residents and authorities of Tajikistan to the case of Abdullokhi Shamsiddin.

Earlier, Abdullokhi Shamsiddin’s relatives informed Azda TV that on January 18, 2023, he was deported from Germany and detained by Tajik law enforcement agencies directly on the plane at Dushanbe International Airport, from where he was taken away in an unknown direction.

On January 18, the German authorities deported Abdullokhi Shamsiddin to Tajikistan due to the lack of residency documents.

After Tajik political activist Abdullokhi Shamsiddin was detained and later deported from Germany to Tajikistan, friends, colleagues, and political activists held at least four protests in Germany, calling for his release.

Weeks later, the Tajik authorities still have not provided any information about Abdullokhi Shamsiddin’s fate, have not disclosed where he is being held or under what conditions. Earlier, the Attorney General and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan stated that they had no information about Abdullokhi Shamsiddin’s whereabouts.

The silence of Tajik law enforcement agencies has raised many questions among relatives and friends, as well as the Tajik public: if Abdullokhi Shamsiddin is alive and well, then why do the authorities not disclose where he is and which agency detained him?