Court of Greece should refrain from Mirzorakhim Kuzov's extradition to Tajikistan
Published on 2017-11-03 08:37:00, Amsterdam
On 9 October 2017 citizen of Tajikistan Mirzorakhim Kuzov, also known as Shokhnaim Karim, was detained in the transit zone of the Athens International Airport named after Eleftherios Venizelos. On 28 October 2015, the authorities of Tajikistan published a red notice on Interpol concerning Mirzorakhim Kuzov, according to which he was accused of involvement in a criminal association in accordance with article 187 (2) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan. Mirzorakhim Kuzov denies all charges and insists on his innocence. He claims that these charges are politically motivated in response to his membership in the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT).
Mirzorakhim Kuzov, a Tajik politician, a member of the Supreme Council and the Executive Board of the IRPT, successfully built his political career, holding several high positions during the peace talks and inter-Tajik dialogue, as well as in the Commission on National Reconciliation.
After the Tajik elections in March 2015, the IRPT failed to reach the threshold for joining the parliament and, for the first time since the 1997 peace agreement that put an end to the civil war, was excluded from the parliament. Soon after, the government of Tajikistan launched a campaign against the Party.
To recall, in September 2015, the former deputy minister of defense of Tajikistan, Abdukhalim Nazarzoda, was accused of attempting a coup. The authorities soon called the incident a "terroristic" attack and accused the IRPT of plotting to overthrow the government. Although the IRPT condemned the attack and denied any connection with Nazarzoda, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan on 29 September 2015 rushed to recognize the IRPT as a terrorist and extremist organization and banned its activities on the territory of the country. Soon all the leaders of the Party who did not manage to leave the country were arrested and convicted.
As reported, Mirzorakhim Kuzov for the last two years was living in Turkey and Iran. His family had been staying all the time in Tajikistan until August 2017. They could flee to Lithuania, where they applied for asylum.
Mirzorakhim Kuzov claims that his family paid a high price for his political activities. He said that their documents, including passports, were confiscated. They were regularly harassed, intimidated and interrogated by the Tajik special services. The security services repeatedly threatened his wife that if Mirzorakhim Kuzov did not return to Tajikistan, they would arrest her, their children and relatives.
Human Rights Vision Foundation believes that if Mirzorakhim Kuzov returns to Tajikistan, he will be subjected to serious human rights violations, in particular: incommunicado detention, torture and other ill-treatment and unfair trial. If Mirzorakhim Kuzov is extradited, the Greek authorities will violate their obligations with respect to the total prohibition of torture and other cruel treatment in accordance with the international law.
It should be noted that IRPT is not recognized as a terrorist and extremist organization in the countries of the European Union. Earlier, the leader of the IRPT, Mukhiddin Kabiri, was also on the Interpol list, but after gaining refugee status and an objective investigation of his case, he was excluded from the list of Interpol wanted. Mirzorakhim Kuzov, like Mukhiddin Kabiri, is accused by the Tajik authorities of the same article 187 (2) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan. In Tajikistan, there is a practice of holding court hearings against political prisoners in a closed regime and, as a rule, in the building of the detention facility. It should be specially noted that political prisoners in Tajikistan are subjected to the most brutal torture. Torture applies to them even before the indictment is issued.
Mahmadali Hayit, deputy chairman of the IRPT, sentenced to life imprisonment, in his video message received from the preliminary investigation of the State Committee for National Security, plainly said that as soon as he entered the detention center, he was beaten for no reason. He further said that beating, humiliation and insult is the natural course of the investigation, and all prisoners are tortured.
The Tajik authorities do not provide lawyers in cases of a political nature and do not allow independent lawyers to carry out their professional activities.
Buzurgmehr Yorov, a lawyer who defended the IRPT members, himself became a victim of political persecution by the Tajik authorities. He was also sentenced to 28 years of imprisonment for trumped-up cases against him.
According to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the obligation of States not to expel, return or extradite a person to another State, if there is a reason to believe that he may be subjected to torture. Human Rights Vision Foundation believes that there are evidences of such violations in Tajikistan. In this regard, we call upon the Greek authorities to refrain from the decision to extradite Mirzorakhim Kuzov to Tajikistan and ensure his full security in Greece.