DUSHANBE, April 14, 2011, Asia-Plus – The case of the Raqibov family from Fayzobod district that try to uphold their right has taken a tragic turn.
Householder Atovullo Raqibov told Asia-Plus by phone that the Fayzobod court yesterday ruled to place him under arrest for ignoring summons. “The problem is my wife is now in hospital in Dushanbe; she is suffering a mental disorder because of all these problems and I cannot leave her alone,” said Raqibov, “That is why I did not attend the last court hearings. I submitted a document certifying that my wife is hospitalized to the court and I hope they will take this into account.”
The trial of Atovullo Raqibov began in a court of Fayzobod district on March 16. His wife and two his sisters are also in the dock.
Fayzobod resident Atovullo Raqibov faces charges of hooliganism.
We will recall that Raqibov family was left practically homeless as their house was demolished in July 2009 and only one structure consisting of one room remained, in which Atovullo and his family lived.
As it had been reported earlier, the General-Prosecutor’s Office completed investigation into the case of Atovullo Raqibov on February 2, 2011 and it moved to the Fayzobod district court.
Criminal proceedings were instituted against Raqibov under the provisions of Article 237 (2) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – hooliganism. Representative of the Prosecutor-General’s Office says that on September 14, 2010, Atovullo Raqibov prevented activities of the commission that was set up for full demolition of his house.
The case seems to be knotty: the Fayzobod police department has instituted the case following an application by an excavator operator who said that Raqibov allegedly broke the excavator’s glass as a protest against demolition of his house.
On January 17, 2011, Atovullo Raqibov and his family gathered outside the Ombudsman’s office in Dushanbe. He told Asia-Plus on the same day that the house was demolished, though the family had all necessary documents, including the certificate of land use right. According to him, they went through all instances but failed to find solution to the problem. “At the end of 2010, we applied to Tajik Ombudsman Zarif Alizoda and he promised to examine the issue,” said Raqibov, “More than a month has passed since that time, but we have not yet received any reply. That is why my wife, I and our five children have decided to stand outside the Ombudsman’s office until our problem is solved.”
Atovullo Raqibov and his family spent an overnight in Ombudsman’s Office in Dushanbe but failed to meet with the ombudsman. On January 18, at around 8:00 am, officers from the police station in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district came. They promised to help and took them to the police station. Raqibov and his family spent there a couple of hours and police officers then took them to the Fayzobod police station.
It is to be noted that the criminal case instituted against Raqibov in September 2010 was then suspended and it was resumed only in January this year when Atovullo Raqibov began haunting officials’ thresholds in Dushanbe in search of truth and justice.
