DUSHANBE, July 24, 2014, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan’s human rights organizations, barristers’ associations and the NGO Coalition against Torture in Tajikistan released a joint statement today, in which they express concern about the fact that instances of arrest of defense lawyers involved in high-profile cases are becoming more and more frequent in the country.
They call on Tajik authorities to investigate the case of Shuhrat Qudratov, one of defense lawyers for jailed ex-Minister of Industry Zayd Saidov, fairly, without bias.
They note that Shuhrat Qudratov was also defense lawyer for a number of other known Tajik public figures such as ex-Minister of Interiors Yaqub Salimov, top manager of Tajikistan’s largest real estate development company Jourabek Okhounov, etc.
They also call on Tajik authorities to observe norms of national and international laws and to give up the practice of prosecution of defense lawyers and making pressure on them for their professional activity as well as to refrain from direct or indirect interference in defense lawyers’ work and acts of reprisal against them.
The human rights organizations and barristers’ associations also call on Tajik authorities to immediately inform relevant barristers’ associations about detention of an attorney and provide an immediate access to him/her.
Shuhrat Qudratov faces charges of bribery, attempted crime and complicity in crime.
A statement, released by the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption on July 22, notes that Shuhrat Qudratov represented Amirali Sulamayev during his fraud trial in a court in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district.
According to the statement, Qudratov offered a bribe of 2,500 U.S. dollars to Judge Nizamov for bringing in an acquittal for his client. Qudratov was reportedly detained by anticorruption officers on July 21 while he was taking money from his client.
Criminal proceedings were instituted on July 21 under the provisions of three articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 36 – complicity in crime; Article 32 – preparation for crime or attempted crime; and Article 320 – bribery.
Qudratov is currently being held in anticorruption agency-run pretrial detention facility, an investigation is under way.
We will recall that Qudratov is the second defense lawyer for Zayd Saidov to be detained by Tajik authorities. In March, Saidov’s defense lawyer Fakhriddin Zokirov was arrested for his alleged debts to a local bank. He is still in pretrial detention.
