The lawyer, who complained about torture in Tajikistan, was revoked his license
The court of the Sino metropolitan area made the decision concerning the case of the young lawyer Abdulaziz Abdurahmonzoda, accused under the article 247 part 2 (fraud) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan. He was sentenced to pay a fine of 365 estimate indicators, which amounts to $2000. This was reported by the Coalition of civil society against torture and impunity in Tajikistan.
Saidbek Nuriddinov, the chairman of the Union of lawyers of Tajikistan, who defended the young lawyer, said that the amnesty had been applied to his client, but the criminal record has deprived him of the right to practice law for life. “In November 2015, the law on the bar was amended to the effect that lawyers with a criminal record have been deprived of a license for life. This is a discriminatory norm of the law, we wrote a corresponding complaint to the UN Committee, but so far without result,” Nuriddinov said.
According to him, they filed a cassational appeal against the court decision to the city court.
At the beginning of October, the Prosecutor General’s office of Tajikistan refused to initiate a criminal case on the facts of torture specified in the statement of the young lawyer Abdulaziz Abdurahmonzoda, which was appealed by the head of the Union of lawyers of the Republic of Tajikistan. “During the trial, the judge ordered a verification of the fact of torture, but the Prosecutor’s office, despite the availability of clear evidence, did not confirm the facts of torture,” Nuriddinov said.
Recall that on April 9, 2019, near the building of the Varzob district court, Saidmurod Saidov addressed to the lawyer Abdulaziz Abdurahmonzoda to provide legal assistance in a civil case for damages.
A week later, on April 17, Saidmurod Saidov arrived at the lawyer’s office and brought $500. The lawyer asked him to exchange them to somoni at the bank near the lawyer’s office. Having taken the first copy of the agreement, Saidov hastily left the office, and at that moment about 20-25 people entered the office, who introduced themselves as operational officers of the Agency for Financial Control and Anti-Corruption of the Republic of Tajikistan in the city of Dushanbe.
According to Abdulaziz, after his detention, operatives, including Adham Nazarzoda and Sayvali Khushvaktzoda, broke his tooth in a law office and brutally beat him.
“After the beating, the investigators forced me to write a statement stating that I took the sum of $500 for the subsequent transfer to the employee of the Varzob court Shahzod Nuralizoda. Under physical pressure, I was forced to fulfill their requirements. As dictated by them, I wrote the statement, signed it, and we all together went to the Varzob district court,” said the lawyer.
Abdulaziz Abdurahmonzoda didn’t plant money, but said that in the Saidov’s case he brought the amount requested by him. So, the operation to detain the employee of the Varzob court was disrupted. In late May, Abdulaziz Abdurahmonzoda was charged with fraud. Later, in early July, the case was transferred to the court of the metropolitan area of Sino.
Because of the use of torture and cruel treatment, Abdulaziz Abdurahmonzoda applied for legal assistance to the NGO “Independent Center for the protection of human rights”, which is a member of the Coalition of civil society against torture and impunity.
