DUSHANBE, June 29, Asia-Plus – Despite the fact that the Supreme Court considered criminal proceedings instituted against Mahamdruzi Iskandarov and sentenced him to 23 years in jail in October last year already, he is still being held in the Security Ministry-run detention facility, Jumaboy Niyozov, the deputy head of Tajikistan’s Democratic Party (DPT), announced at a press conference in Dushanbe on June 29.
He told journalists that in accordance with law, Mahmadruzi Iskandarov was supposed to be transferred from the pretrial detention facility to the corrective colony within a week after the court passed a sentence on him. However, the DPT leader is still being held in the pretrial detention facility.
“After the court gives ruling, the convicted is transferred from one regime of imprisonment to other one, and conditions of holding of him become milder. However, conditions of holding of Mahamdruzi Iskandarov have become more rigid compared to those that were during the investigation process,” Mr. Niyozov said, noting that Mahamdruzi Iskandarov is even not allowed to receive newspapers.
“Officials even deny attorneys and family members access to him,” said Jumaboy Niyozov, “Only one time he was allowed having a meeting with his mother.”
According to the DPT deputy leader, such actions of authorities may be assessed as deliberate isolation of the DPT leader from outside world ahead of presidential elections in
Tajikistan
due in November 2006.
As it had been reported earlier, a
Moscow
regional court on June 21 made a decision to overturn a lower court’s ruling that there was no need to question jailed leader of
Tajikistan
’s Democratic Party (DPT) also former head of Tajik state gas concern Mahmadruzi Iskandarov over the circumstance of his return to
Tajikistan
. Following this, Ms. Anna Stavitskaya, a
Moscow
lawyers for Mahmadruzi Iskandarov, has appealed to Russian judicial authorities to help bring her client back to
Russia
for questioning over his mysterious return from the Russian city of
Korolyov
, near
Moscow
, to
Tajikistan
.
