Relatives of Ghaffor Mirzoyev, who is serving a life term, say they know nothing about his health condition.
His sister, Oisha Mirzoyeva, says she did not receive message from him after delivering the latest parcel to him.
“We now know nothing about his health condition. I delivered the parcel to him on August 4. Usually, he was sending me message through the prison administration confirming that he received the parcel. But this time, I received nothing from him,” Oisha Mirzoyeva said.
“I am not sure that he feels himself well. He has permission for two meetings with relatives and three parcels per year. For the last time, I saw him on May 20. That time he was good. But after that I received a phone call on July 26 from the detention facility where is being held that he had gone on hunger strike to protest government’s unwillingness to review his case. They told me that he had been transferred to a penal isolation ward,” Oisha Mirzoyeva noted.
According to her, Ghaffor Mirzoyev has written a letter to Ozoda Rahmon, the chairperson of President’s Executive Office, asking to review his case. “We have received reply that the letter was forwarded to the Ministry of Justice. We have also written to the Prosecutor-General’s Office noting that Ghaffor needs medical attendance but they said that he is provided with medical attendance. But I do not believe it.”
Recall, Tajik Ombudsman Zarif Alizoda told reporters in Dushanbe on August 3 that he had received a letter from Ghaffor Mirzoyev. According to him, Ghaffor Mirzoyev asks for meeting with representatives of the Ombudsman’s Office.
“I have received letter from Ghaffor Mirzoyev recently. His sister, Oisha Mirzoyeva, has brought the letter to the Ombudsman’s Office,” said Alizoda. “In his letter, Mirzoyev asks for meeting with representatives of the Ombudsman’s Office.”
Tajik Ombudsman further noted that the meeting is expected to take place in September.
The Supreme Court of Tajikistan sentenced Ghaffor Mirzoyev, the former commander of Tajikistan’s Presidential Guards and the former director of the Tajik Drug Control Agency, to life imprisonment on August 11, 2006.
Ghaffor Mirzoyev was found guilty of planning a coup, tax evasion, illegally crossing border, and abuse of office.
Other defendants that were together with Ghaffor Mirzoyev in the dock were sentenced to lengthy terms in jail, ranging from 12 to 16 years.
The trial of Ghaffor Mirzoyev ended on August 3. In July, a prosecutor in the trial of Ghaffor Mirzoyev asked the court to sentence Ghaffor Mirzoyev to death.
Ghaffor Mirzoyev did not plead guilty to any of the charges, which included sedition and murder.
Ghaffor Mirzoyev commanded the presidential guard between 1995 until his dismissal in January 2004. In addition to being the chief of the Presidential National Guard, Mirzoyev served as the head of Tajikistan's National Olympic Committee in 2002. He had also been the head of the country’s counter narcotics agency.
Ghaffor Mirzoyev was arrested along with 15 supporters on August 6, 2004, and he faced numerous charges, including abuse of office, tax evasion, and planning a coup. Though many claimed that the arrests were politically motivated, most critics conceded that Mirzoyev was a “corrupt official” with links to the narcotics industry.
