DUSHANBE, June 6, 2016, Asia-Plus –
RIA Novosti
news agency (Russia) reported on June 3 that three relatives of the leader of the banned Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), Muhiddin Kabiri, have been jailed for failure to report an unspecified crime.
Jamshed Narzulloyev, the cousin of Muhiddin Kabiri, Mahamdali Rahmatulloyev, the brother-in-law of Kabiri (his wife’s brother), and Muhiddin Kabiri’s driver Hikmatullo Sayfov, who is relative of his wife, were reportedly sentenced to one year in prison each on June 2.
Quoting “a reliable source at the Supreme Court of Tajikistan,”
RIA Novosti
reports that Narzulloyev, Rahmatulloyev, and Sayfov were detained in late September 2015 on suspicion of collaborating with Kabiri’s son. IRPT leader is charged with handing over money to the former deputy defense minister Abduhalim Nazarzoda, who tried to arrange a military coup in the country on September 4, 2015.
Tajikistan’s Supreme Court banned the Islamic Revival Party as terrorist group on September 29 on the basis of a suit filed by the Prosecutor-General’s Office. The Supreme Court ruled that the IRPT should be included on a blacklist of extremist and terrorist organizations. The verdict forces the closure of the IRP”s official newspaper
Najot
and bans the distribution of any video, audio, or printed materials related to the party”s activities.
The Supreme Court on June 2 sentenced the deputy IRPT heads Saidumar Husaini and Mahmadali Hayit to life imprisonment. Eleven other IRPT activists were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 14 to 28 years. Zarafo Rahmoni, the party”s lawyer and the only woman in the high-profile trial, was sentenced to two years in prison.
Party leader Muhiddin Kabiri, who now lives in exile, has rejected the accusations.
