Member of the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament), Saidjafar Usmonzoda, has been stripped of his immunity and taken into custody. Tajikistan’s state-run news agency Khovar reported this today, citing the Majlisi Namoyandagon.
The decision was reportedly made at the regular sitting of the fifth session of the Majlisi Namoyandagon of the sixth convocation, based on the request of the Prosecutor General.
Speaking at the meeting, the Prosecutor-General Yusuf Rahmon reportedly informed lawmakers that criminal proceedings have been instituted against Saidjafar Usmonzoda under the provisions of Article 306, Part 2, Paragraph (v) of Tajikistan ‘s Penal Code — violent seizure of power or violent retention of power with the use of official position; an investigation is under way.
Article 306 stipulates that violent seizure of power or violent retention of power is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 15 to 25 years or life imprisonment.
"With respect, I inform you that the Prosecutor-General’s Office is investigating a criminal case of member of the Majlisi Namoyandagon Saidjafar Usmonzoda and others under Article 306, Part 2, Paragraph (v) of the Penal Code Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan, which covers the crime of violent seizure of power,” said Yusuf Rahmon.
According to the Tajik chief prosecutor, the investigation established that Saidjaffar Usmonzoda had mobile phone talks with Sharofiddin Gadoyev, the deputy head of the extremist-terrorist organization Paimonii Millii Tojikiston (The National Alliance of Tajikistan) in September 2021, discussing the violent seizure of power in Tajikistan.
"Sharofiddin Gadoyev promised that to achieve this goal Muhiddin Kabiri, the leader of the extremist-terrorist organization Islamic Renaissance Party, will provide financial assistance and facilitate the transfer of more than 3,000 militants of the Jamaati Ansarullah terrorist organization from abroad to Tajikistan," the Prosecutor-General said.
According to him, Usmonzoda requested 10 million US dollars from a representative of a foreign state to recruit influential figures and organize protests in the country.
Additionally, Usmonzoda, according to the Tajik chief prosecutor, enlisted supporters from various segments of society both inside and outside the country, “forming groups and assigning them specific tasks to execute his criminal plan.”
Yusuf Rahmon said criminal proceedings were instituted against Saidjafar Usmonzoda and others on June 12 and he was taken into custody.
The National Alliance of Tajikistan is an opposition coalition consisting of four Tajik dissident parties and organizations: the Forum of Tajik Freethinkers, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), the Association of Central Asian Migrants, and the People's Movement "Reforms and Development in Tajikistan". The Alliance reportedly represents a broad section of Tajik society, including secular and traditional figures, and is based in Poland.
Mr. Saidjafar Usmonzoda is ex-leader of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT).
The DPT extraordinary congress that took place in Dushanbe on May 11 recognized the party's activities carried out over the past two years as unsatisfactory and it was proposed to make changes to the party leadership.
Three candidates were proposed for the position of chairman of the party, namely Shahboz Abror, Abdujabbor Yuldoshev and Ilyosiddin Sidjafarov. The latter withdrew his candidacy.
Of 94 delegates participating in the congress, 64 votes for Shahboz Abror and eight voted for Abdujabbor Yuldoshev.
The Democratic Party of Tajikistan can trace its origins back to the last days of the Soviet Union. Registered on June 21, 1991 and banned by the Supreme Court on June 21, 1993, the Democratic Party of Tajikistan was reregistered on December 3, 1999.
At the end of 1990s, two factions laid claim to the Democratic Party of Tajikistan: the Almaty platform led by Mahmadruzi Iskandarov and the Tehran platform run by Azam Afzali. The Tehran platform later transformed itself into the Taraqqiyot (Progress) Party.
On October 5, 2005, the Supreme Court sentenced DPT leader Mahmadruzi Iskandarov to 23 years in prison. The sentence followed his conviction on charges of terrorism, the embezzlement of state funds, and the illegal storage of weapons, though his supporters say he was jailed for political motives.
The party split into two factions again and the Ministry of Justice recognized Masoud Sobirov as the legitimate leader of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan in October 2006.
Democrats in the Sughd province and the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) as well as some primary organizations of the party in other regions of the country did not recognize Masoud Sobirov as the party leader and they demanded convocation of the extraordinary congress of the party.
An extraordinary congress of the party took place in Dushanbe on December 23, 2012 and Saidjafar Usmonzoda was elected as chairman of the party.
