Yusuf Rahmon, the Prosecutor General of Tajikistan, confirmed that criminal cases have been initiated against former Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, former parliament speaker Akbarshoh Iskandarov, deputy chairman of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT) Ahmadshoh Komilzoda, and first deputy chairman of the Social-Democratic Party of Tajikistan (SDPT) Shokirjon Hakimov.
At a news conference in Dushanbe on August 9, Yusuf Rahmon stated that these individuals "were in close contact" with Saidjafar Usmonzoda, the former chairman of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan and a member of the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament), who was arrested in June on suspicion of plotting to forcibly seize power.
According to Rahmon, the criminal case against these individuals was initiated by the Prosecutor General's Office and is currently under investigation. However, he declined to provide further details, citing the secrecy of the investigation and the confidentiality of the case.
"A person who betrays the state, the nation, the president will be held accountable before the law, regardless of the position he holds or previously held," the Prosecutor General emphasized.
However, he did not specify what actions of the mentioned individuals might be considered treason.
Yusuf Rahmon also refrained from answering numerous questions from journalists about whether Zarifi, Iskandarov, Komilzoda, and Hakimov had been officially arrested and where they are currently located.
He declined to elaborate further, saying that details of the investigation are classified.
Meanwhile, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service says it is not clear how the arrested men pleaded as neither their relatives nor lawyers have made any public statements.
Sources reportedly told RFE/RL Tajik Service that only two of those arrested, Akbarshoh Iskandarov and Shokirjon Hakimov, had managed to get private lawyers, while the others are represented by state-appointed attorneys. However, none of the lawyers has ever been able to meet with their clients, the sources said.
Recall, the arrests came after the state-run news agency Khovar cited the Prosecutor-General's Office in June, saying that the lawmaker and ex-chairman of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan, Saidjafar Usmonzoda, was arrested on suspicion of plotting to forcibly seize power.
Yusuf Rahmon said at the time at a parliamentary session that Usmonzoda was suspected of collaborating with the National Alliance of Tajikistan — a group uniting self-exiled opposition politicians and activists that had been banned in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.
