DUSHANBE, July 1, 2014, Asia-Plus – The Association of American Geographers (AAG) on June 26 released a statement regarding the detention of Tajik researcher Alexander Sodiqov.
“On behalf of the 10,000+ constituent members of THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS (AAG), we write to express our strong concern over the June 16 detention of our fellow academic researcher Alexander Sodiqov.
“Sodiqov is a doctoral student in political science at the University of Toronto. He was in Tajikistan working with UK-based political scientists and geographers on an Economic and Social Research Council (UK) funded project—“Rising Powers and Conflict Management in Central Asia.” As a researcher in this project, he was employed by the University of Exeter. The research project was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Exeter in June 2013. The focus of the project is to study the management and resolution of conflicts in Central Asia and the research in Tajikistan involved collecting public statements by government and civil society organizations as well as conducting interviews with public officials and civil society leaders. The research is expected to bring benefit to Tajikistan by demonstrating how Tajikistan developed practices of peace-building and conflict resolution that extend back to the successful resolution of the civil war in 1997.
“Sodiqov arrived in Dushanbe to begin research on Sunday, June 8, 2014. On Sunday, June 15, he travelled to Khorog and, after conducting his first interview on Monday, June 16, he was arrested.
“As of the date of this statement, we do not know what has prompted his arrest, but it would appear that his arrest is due to his research activities. The arrest and detention of academic researchers is of great concern to all of our constituent members. Like Sodiqov, many of us conduct interview-based research in Central Asia and other parts of the world.
“Sodiqov’s arrest and detention represents a worrisome development for anyone concerned with intellectual freedom. We thus call on the appropriate authorities to release him immediately.”
