Sources close to Tajikistan's Prosecutor-General's Office say noted Tajik lawyer and First Deputy Chairman of the Social-Democratic Party of Tajikistan (SDPT) Shokirjon Hakimov was detained last week.
According to the sources, about a week ago he was summoned for questioning, after which he did not return home.
Shokirjon’s relatives refrain from communicating with the press, but two sources confirmed that he had been detained. The sources did not specify whether criminal proceedings had been instituted against him or not.
Some sources say Hakimov's detention was linked to the arrest of former lawmaker and ex-leader of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT) Saidjafar Usmonzoda on June 14 for allegedly “plotting to overthrow the government.”
Meanwhile, there has been no official announcement about Hakimov's detention.
Our attempts to confirm information about detention of Shokirjon Hakimov were unsuccessful. The Prosecutor General's Office responded to our call about this but asked to make a written request.
Shokirjon Hakimov, 58, has scientific degree of Doctor of Sciences in Law. For several years he headed the Department of Law and the Department of International Relations at the Institute of Innovative Technologies and Communications. Hakimov is author of over 120 scientific and scientific-methodological works.
Shokirjon Hakimov has been deputy chairman of the Social-Democratic Party of Tajikistan for many years. He is one of activists of civil society, who has often expressed his opinion on various issues.
Founded in 2002, the Social-Democratic Party of Tajikistan was registered on December 20, 2002. It was originally registered as the Party of Justice and Development on February 5, 1999. Tajikistan’s Ministry of Justice requested the same year that the Supreme Court ban the party’s activities and its registration was canceled. The party re-emerged and was registered under the name of the Social-Democratic Party in late 2002. The party reportedly has about 8,000 members.
