In a joint statement released on Jul 27, Human Rights Watch and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee call on Tajik authorities to lift “a politically motivated travel ban” and allow the critically ill son of an opposition member to receive medical treatment abroad.
The statement, in particular, notes that 4-year-old Ibrohim Hamza Tillozoda, the son of opposition member Ruhullo Tillozoda and the grandson of opposition leader Muhiddin Kabiri, the chair of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), has life-threatening stage-3 testicular cancer that doctors in Tajikistan have not been able to treat.
“Tajik authorities should immediately allow 4-year-old Hamza and his family to leave so he can receive life-saving medical treatment,” Marius Fossum, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee's regional representative in Central Asia, said.
“President Emomali Rahmon should ensure that the family can travel,” Fossum added.
Human Rights Watch and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee said that an oncological clinic in Turkey is prepared to provide the treatment.
The statement notes that in response to a social media campaign calling on the Tajik government to allow Hamza to travel abroad for medical treatment, Tajik authorities have claimed that the family is free to leave the country at any time. “However, in the three years since the security services confiscated the family’s passports and birth certificates, they have continually intimidated and harassed the remaining family members, confiscating their mobile phones and preventing them from making contact with anyone outside their village,” according to the statement.
The statement says that oncologists in Turkey examined available information about the child’s illness, including photographs showing an orange-sized tumor in the boy’s groin area, and estimated on July 25, 2018, that the boy would be at imminent risk of life threatening complications if he doesn’t get adequate health care within days.
“It is morally reprehensible that Tajik authorities appear to be holding a critically ill child hostage to exert pressure on his father and grandfather,” said Steve Swerdlow, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “This case should not be about politics, but about a child’s life.”
