Russian authorities have arrested Tajik blogger Junaidullo Khudoyorov at Tajikistan's request, his brother told Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, known locally as Radio Ozodi on June 25, adding that the activist may face illegal incarceration and arbitrary prosecution if extradited to Dushanbe.
Khudoyorov is reportedly wanted in Tajikistan on a hooliganism charge, which he denies.
Recall, Khudoyorov was sentenced to five years in prison in 2017 on a charge of supporting the Islamic extremist group, the Salafi Islamic movement, which stemmed from his postings.
Salafism has been banned in Tajikistan as an illegal group since January 8, 2009. The Tajik authorities say Salafi movement represents a potential threat to national security and the Supreme Court added Salafists to its list of religious groups prohibited from operating in the country.
Khudoyorov was reportedly released in 2019, less than two years later after the government announced a mass amnesty.
As it had been reported earlier, a court in Tajikistan's northeastern district of Lakhsh sentenced Mavjigul Gharibova, the mother of Junaidullo Khudoyorov, to two years of house arrest in early June last year after finding her guilty of hooliganism, a charge the 66-year-old woman denied.
She was reportedly accused of beating a local man, Alisher Nasriddin, during a conflict in November 2021, which she vehemently denied.
Junaidullo told Radio Ozodi at the time that he considered the court ruling to be "retaliation" by the local authorities for his online articles revealing corruption and abuse of power among them.
