On November 9th 2017, at approximately 19:00, another attack on the chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan (SDPT), Rahmatullo Zoirov, was carried out in Dushanbe.
The attack was accompanied by insults aimed at humiliating the national and religious dignity of Zoirov. As a result of the attack, the leader of the SDPT suffered injuries to his hand and is currently undergoing treatment.
It should be emphasized that this is not the first attack on the leader of the SDPT. Previously, on the early morning of December 10th 2013, a group of enraged women broke into the office of the SDPT and, in the presence of journalists, began to insult Zoirov, accusing him inciting ethnic hatred. Similar incidents occurred on February 10th 2013 and February 1st 2014, when attacks were carried out on the office of the Party, while meetings and press conferences were being held there.
On May 7th 2016, an attack was also carried out on the party department leader in the Rasht district, Farhod Khudoyorov. As a result of the physical attack, he suffered from a severe head injury and was hospitalized.
It should also be recalled that until now, the law enforcement agencies of Tajikistan have not investigated the cases of attacks on the deputy leader of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (SICT) Saidumar Husaini and Mahmadali Hait. The case materials have been suspended and the perpetrators have not been brought to justice.
Today, there are seven political parties in Tajikistan, five of which are pro-government, led by the People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT): The Agrarian Party of Tajikistan (APT), the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT), the Party of Economic Reforms of Tajikistan (PERT), the Socialist Party of Tajikistan (SPT); one adjacent to the pro-government — the Communist Party of Tajikistan (KPT), one opposition — the Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan (SDPT). Until September 2015, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan was also functioning, before being declared as a terrorist organization by the Tajik authorities.
It is evident that the pressure on the opposition from the authorities of Tajikistan, is significantly rising. Their methods are far from being in compliance with the principles and provisions of international acts on political and civil rights and freedoms. Any dissent, any expression of contentious opinion, is subjected to persecution.
In a world of rapid disclosure of important crimes, where sometimes there are no witnesses, the authorities’ inability to expose and prosecute the perpetrators in cases of attacks on the oppositionists looks like the unwillingness to punish the guilty, or a form of encouragement, through tacit consent, to such crimes.
The Human Rights Vision Foundation is concerned about the practice of inhumane and non-political methods of fighting the opposition in Tajikistan. The lack of reaction from the authorities to such incidents can be interpreted as their complicity with the offenders.
The Human Rights Vision Foundation calls on the Tajik authorities to promptly and objectively initiate an investigation into the case of the attack on SDPT leader Rahmatullo Zoirov, and bring those responsible to justice.
