In Rasht district, the court sentenced 66-year-old Mavdzhigul Garibova (the mother of a well-known blogger and government critic Djunaydullo Khudoyorov) to two years of house arrest.
The court found her guilty of hooliganism, although the woman herself is sure that she was slandered and intends to challenge the court’s verdict.
The criminal case under the Article “Hooliganism” against Garibova and her daughter Valamat was initiated in November last year on the basis of the statement from the victim (a resident of the same district) Alisher Nasriddinov. He is the brother of one of those convicted in the case of the murder of the grandson of Mavdzhigul Garibova. 21-year-old Alirizo was killed in July 2021 during a conflict in his native village.
Later, the case against Valamat was dismissed due to the lack of corpus delicti. Alisher Nasriddinov was also found guilty of hooliganism and ordered to pay a fine of 3,000 somoni ($280).
According to Mavdzhigul Garibova, in November last year, she visited her daughter Valamat, and when she returned home, she met Alisher Nasriddinov on the way, who made sarcastic remarks to the woman. “A verbal skirmish ensued. Alisher hit me, and I fell to the ground. The fact that I hit him is slander. I asked the investigators to give the “victim” a referral for a forensic medical examination, but they said that there was no need for this, he had no signs of injury. When I asked what I was to blame for then, the investigator remained silent,” the woman says.
Then, in November 2021, a case under the article “Hooliganism” was initiated against her son, the well-known blogger Djunaydullo Khudoyorov. According to investigators, he threatened to use violence against a relative of the man convicted in the murder of Alirizo’s nephew.
Djunaydullo himself considers the accusation unfounded. The blogger has previously been prosecuted. In 2017, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison for supporting the movement of Salafiya, banned in the country, after he left comments under posts on social networks. In fact, he served 1 year and 10 months and was released under the amnesty.
In 2018, Farhod (the brother of Djunaydullo, an activist of the opposition Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan) was arrested for 15 days ‘for insulting senior officials of the khukumat of Rasht district’.
Djunaydullo believes that local authorities are taking revenge on him and his family for denouncing district officials who allowed corruption and abuse.
Experts believe that the authorities have chosen a new tactic. Now not only opponents, but also their relatives are being held accountable for criticizing the authorities and officials on far-fetched charges. In early April, the court sentenced Shokhida Mamadjonova (the mother of an opposition blogger broadcasting from Germany) to 6 years in prison. The court found her guilty of collaborating with the banned in the country Group 24 and the Islamic Renaissance Party. According to the court, Shokhida Mamadjonova twice commented on her son’s YouTube video, and her comments contained an appeal against the constitutional order of Tajikistan and insulting the head of state.
