DUSHANBE, January 28, 2016, Asia-Plus – Tajik national Hasan Yusufov, 51, who was detained in the Chinese city of Urumqi on suspicion of drug trafficking five years ago, faces death penalty.
Chinese authorities informed the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan that one of Hasan’s relatives will be given permission to meet with him before the death penalty is implemented.
A week ago Hasan’s relatives received notification from the Interior Ministry that the execution is set for January 28.
Bahodur Yusufov, the brother of Hasan Yusufov, says that his brother is innocent and was not involved n drug trafficking. According to him, Hasan was doing business, supplying goods from China to Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, according to some sources, Tajik MFA on January 26 sent a note to the Chinese Embassy in Dushanbe with solicitation to review Yusufov’s case.
According to the latest data from the Tajik authorities, 16 Tajik nationals, including seven women, are currently serving their terms in jails in China.
Tajik Prosecutor-General Yusuf Rahmon noted in May last year that of a total number of Tajik nationals convicted in China, three women and one man were sentenced to death, five others were sentenced to life imprisonment and others were sentenced to different jail terms.
Meanwhile, three Chinese nationals, charged with raping, inflicting serious damage to health ad drug trafficking, are currently serving their terms in penal colonies in Tajikistan.
An agreement between Tajikistan and China on exchange of prisoners was signed in Dushanbe in 2014 and Tajikistan ratified it in May last year.
International watchdog groups note that China leads the world in executions, and drug offenders are often the ones being put to death.
