DUSHANBE, June 18, 2014, Asia-Plus — The whereabouts of a Tajik citizen from Canada, who was detained in Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) on June 16, remain unknown, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported on June 17.
On June 17, Tajikistan”s State Committee for National Security said Alexander Sodiqov had been detained in Khorog on suspicion of spying for an unnamed country after he met with civil society activist Alim Sherzamonov.
Sherzamonov was one of the leaders of deadly May protests against police actions that targeted suspected criminals in Khorog.
Sodiqov, 31, said he has been touring several Tajik and Uzbek cities as part of doctoral research at the University of Toronto.
Later on June 17 some sources in Khorog said Sodiqov was released after investigators found out that his meetings in Khorog were linked to his academic research.
However, Interior Ministry and State Committee for National Security neither confirmed nor rejected the information.
