In Tajikistan, the reprisal of civil activists from GBAO continues. Following one of the leaders of the Pamir diaspora in Moscow, Oraz Vazirbekov, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Dushanbe on November 5, his brother Ramzi Vazirbekov was also convicted.
He was found guilty of participating in a criminal association and publicly calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order via the Internet and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
His trial was also held behind closed doors in the pre-trial detention center, without the participation of relatives.
Like Oraz, Ramzi Vazirbekov was known for his active statements against the policies of the authorities of Tajikistan, and especially in relation to the actions taken by the authorities in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast in November last year and in May this year.
Both were ‘disappeared’ at Domodedovo airport on the night of July 29 and the next day ‘appeared’ in Dushanbe, declaring that they had voluntarily returned to Tajikistan to answer investigators’ questions.
Following protests and riots in May this year in Badakhshan that resulted in the deaths of dozens of citizens, the law enforcement authorities of Tajikistan have detained and arrested hundreds of people, including civil society activists from Badakhshan, on charges of inciting these riots, some of them have already received long prison terms.
