The court of the capital’s Ismoili Somoni district sentenced former activist of the banned Group 24 Nizomiddin Nasriddinov to 8.5 years in prison. The verdict was announced on September 29 this year, and the parties refrained from commenting.
One of the participants in the trial, on condition of anonymity, told Radio Ozodi on October 5 that the court found Nizomiddin Nasriddinov guilty of public calls for a violent change in the constitutional system (Part 2 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan).
According to him, in court Nasriddinov did not admit his guilt under this article and said that “he only allowed himself to criticize the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon in one video.”
“The trial was open, three relatives of Nasriddinov took part in it. The convict intends to appeal the verdict,” the source said.
Representatives of the court and relatives of Nizomiddin Nasriddinov did not want to communicate with the press on this matter, while the court of the capital’s Ismoili Somoni district was asked to send an official request for information.
Former activist of the Group 24 movement banned in Tajikistan, Nizomiddin Nasriddinov, has lived in Germany since October 2015. The German authorities granted him and his family members asylum. Nasriddinov was detained on January 8 this year while crossing the border of Belarus at the request of the Tajik authorities. The Belarusian authorities, despite calls from international human rights organizations, extradited the activist to his homeland in July.
In September, four international organizations – the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights Watch, Freedom For Eurasia and Freedom Now demanded that the Tajik authorities drop the charges against Nasriddinov and release him from custody.
Source : OZODI
