DUSHANBE, July 6, 2014, Asia-Plus — The investigation into the case of Tajik researcher Alexander Sodiqov, who is charged with high treason and spying, has reportedly been classified as “top secret.”
Alexander’s wife, Musharraf Sodiqova, says lawyers for detained Alexander Sodiqov met with him on July 3. “According to them, Alexander feels himself well and he does not undergo beating or torture,” Mrs. Sodiqova noted.
She added that the defense lawyers had signed a document not to disclose information about the investigation process. “Therefore, I do not have any information about the investigation process,” Mrs. Sodiqova said.
Lawyers Abdulqayum Yusufi and Hasan Kavrakov were hired for Alexander Sodiqov by his family. On July 4, they met with their client for the first time since his arrest.
Sodiqov”s former lawyer, who was appointed by the authorities, met with him only once after his arrest last month.
Alexander Sodiqov, 31, Tajik researcher contracted by the University of Exeter to help with a scholarly project, was detained in Khorog, the capital of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) on June 16 on suspicion of spying for an unnamed country after he met with local civil society activist Alim Sherzamonov.
A number of international human rights organizations issued statements expressing concern over Sodiqov”s detention and urging Tajik authorities to provide detailed and timely information about his situation.
Dr. John Heathershaw, a Central Asia expert from the University of Exeter in Britain, said the detention of his research collaborator, Alexander Sodiqov, on spying charges in southern Tajikistan set an alarming precedent for future political research in the country.
