DUSHANBE, June 19, 2015, Asia-Plus – Ms. Shabnam Khudoidodova, an activist of the Tajik opposition organization Group 24 who is wanted by the Tajik authorities via Interpol, is threatened with extradition to Tajikistan.
Nadezhda Atayeva, the head of the Association of Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA), reports that Shabnam Khudoidodova was detained on June 15 while crossing the Russian-Belarusian border.
According to Atayeva, Shabnam Khudoidodova was born in the Tajik city of Kulob on December 20, 1968. She has underage daughter.
Khudoidodova has reportedly supported critical opinions of Tajik political opposition in social networks, underlining the necessity of democratic reforms in Tajikistan. She has also participated in humanitarian acts to support Tajik labor migrants.
Shabnam Khudoidodova is being held in a detention facility of the Belarusian city of Brest. Khudoidodova was detained at the request of the Tajik authorities because she faces charge of complicity in crime (Article 37 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code).
Atayeva says Shabnam Khudoidodova headed for Belarus on June 12 in order to get a status of refugee at the UNHCR CO in Belarus.
The Association of Human Rights in Central Asia expresses concern that if extradited, Shabnam Khudoidodova will be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison, AHRCA says.
AHRCA also calls on:
– the UNHCR CO in Belarus to fulfil its international commitments to human rights visit Shabnam Khudoidodova and consider her application in accordance with the UN Refugee Convention;
– the Belarusian authorities to fulfil requirements of Article 3 of the UN Convention against Torture and their international commitments to human rights.
The Association for Human Rights in Central Asia has also sent information about the detention of Shabnam Khudoidodova to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and international organization.
The founding leader of Group 24, Umarali Quvvatov, 47, once had close ties with President Emomali Rahmon’s relatives but became an opponent. He was wanted by Dushanbe on fraud charges that he said were politically motivated.
Quvvatov left Tajikistan in 2012 and stayed in Russia and the United Arab Emirates before moving to Turkey. After leaving Tajikistan, he accused Emomali Rahmon of corruption and nepotism.
On December 19, 2014, Umarali Quvvatov was arrested in Istanbul for visa violations, but he was released on February 3, 2015.
Umarali Quvvatov was shot dead by unidentified assailant in Istanbul, Turkey on March 5.
Tajikistan”s Supreme Court banned Group 24 on October 9, 2014 following growing government pressure on the opposition group after it used the Internet to call for street protests in the capital, Dushanbe, on October 10.
Supreme Court judge Salomat Hakimova ruled that Group 24 is an extremist organization, and therefore is banned in Tajikistan. Its website and printed materials were also banned.
