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Amriddin Alovatshoyev
to eight and a half years in prison.
Alovatshoyev disappeared in the Russian city of Beograd in January and reappeared in Tajikistan in February. Tajik state television aired footage of Alovatshoyev confessing to unspecified crimes on February 12. Alovatshoyev’s friends and relatives said the confession was made under duress On April 29, at a trial that lasted only several hours, Alovatshoyev was convicted of hostage- taking and other crimes and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
On May 14, local activists told officials about plans to hold a rally on May 16 to demand changes in the GBAO leadership and the release of all those still held in connection with the November unrest.
When people started to gather on May 16 and make their way to the Khorog city centre they were met with tear gas and rubber bullets. Soon after, troops started using live ammunition in Kho- rog and in Rushan district to the west, where unarmed residents had blocked the road to prevent reinforcements from reaching Khorog.
The incident in Rushan provided the pretext for starting the “anti-terrorism” operation and using armoured vehicles, helicopters, drones and snipers.
During this operation in GBAO, several informal leaders were killed, includ- ing Mamadbokir Mamadbokirov, Zoir Rajabov and Khursand Mazarov. Journalist Ulfathonim Mamadshoyeva, a native of GBAO who had covered Tajik
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politics going back to the civil war days, was arrested in May along with her former husband Kholbash Kholbashov. Both were shown on television confess- ing to organising the violence in GBAO. Details of their cases were declared secret and their lawyers were made to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
In August the state prosecutor called for Mamadshoyeva to be imprisoned for 25 years and Kholbashov for life for organising the violence in GBAO.
On June 29, two members of Com- mission 44, Khujamri Pirnazarov and Shaftolu Bekdavlatov, were sentenced to 18 years in prison for organising an unsanctioned meeting. At the start of July, GBAO poet and camera operator Muyassar Sadonshoyev was sentenced
Ulfathonim Mamadshoyeva (Credit: Facebook).
tenced to five years in prison.
Authorities resurrected the case of the killing of General Abdullo Nazarov in July 2012. Nazarov was a former UTO member and at the time of his death was the chairman of the Directorate
of Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security in GBAO. There were suspicions he was connected to narcot- ics trafficking and that was the reason he was stabbed to death. His murder sparked violence in GBAO that left at least 42 people dead. Two people were convicted of the killing in 2013.
On August 5, a GBAO court sentenced three people, all of whom were related to influential local leaders, to life imprisonment for involvement in Nazarov’s murder.
“Muyassar Sadonshoyev was sentenced to 11 years in prison and Khorog resident Iftihor Saidbekov to
10 years for cooperating with Commission 44”
to 11 years in prison and Khorog resi- dent Iftihor Saidbekov to 10 years for cooperating with Commission 44.
Local Khorog cleric Muzaffar Davlat- mirov was summoned by police for questioning on July 26. Davlatmirov had recently offered Friday prayers for some of the slain informal leaders. On August 3, it was reported that Davlatmirov was convicted of publicly calling on people to carry out extremist acts and sen-
As of August 18, there were some 90 members of Commission 44 or GBAO civil activists in custody. Among them are Manuchehr Kholiknazarov, head of the Association of Pamir Lawyers, and attorney Faromuz Irgashev, two of only four registered lawyers for all of GBAO.
Several more GBAO activists from Russia have this year been detained and sent back to Tajikistan, including the Vazirbekov brothers who posted