DUSHANBE, November 18, 2013, Asia-Plus — One of the main witnesses in Zayd Saidov’s case has reportedly been detained at the Dushanbe airport.
One of Saidov’s defense lawyers, Shuhrat Qudratov, says businessman Dilshod Rahimov, who arrived in Dushanbe from Tehran, Iran especially for giving evidence in the case instituted against Tajik known businessman Zayd Saidov, was detained by Tajik law enforcement officers at the Dushanbe airport on November 18.
According to Qudratov, Dilshod Rahimov is one of the main witnesses for the defense.
“Tajik law enforcement authorities say that Rahimov was detained because he has allegedly been wanted by police over the criminal case instituted against him,” said the lawyer, “But we know for a certainty that no criminal case has been instituted against Dislhod Rahimov and he has not been wanted by police. We suppose that the law enforcement authorities are trying to “persuade” him to give the “necessary” testimony in court.”
Dilshod Rahimov was summoned to court as additional witness at request of Zayd Saidov’s defense lawyers.
We will recall that Zayd Saidov went on trial in Dushanbe on September 12. The trail is being held in the pretrial detention facility of the State Committee for national Security (SCNS) behind closed doors.
Zayd Saidov, who is the leader of Tajikistan”s unregistered New Tajikistan party, was arrested on May 19 and charged with bribe-taking (Article 319 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code), abuse of office (Article 314), financial fraud (Article 247), extortion (Article 250), polygamy (Article 170), rape (Article 138) and sexual relations with a minor (Article 125).
