Several sources told Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, known locally as Radio Ozodi, that former Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrohkhon Zarifi was arrested on unspecified charges last week.
Radio Ozodi reported today that one source close to the country’s law enforcement authorities said Zarifi was suspected of financial crimes related to the construction of the Foreign Ministry's new building.
According to the source, Mr. Zarifi was arrested on June 12 and he had been held in the Interior Ministry-run detention facility until June 16. But this source reportedly does not have information about where he was transferred for further detention
There were also reports that the former foreign minister had been released after interrogation. But none of Radio Ozodi’s sources confirmed this fact.
The 75-year-old Hamrokhon Zarifi served as Tajikistan’s foreign minister from 2006 to 2013. From 2015 until his retirement in 2018, Mr. Zarifi served as Tajikistan's Ambassador to Japan.
Last week, investigators arrested lawmaker Saidjafar Usmonzoda on a charge of “usurping power.” No further explanation of the charge was given and it remains unclear if the two arrests are linked.
