The Forum of Tajik Freethinkers calls on Turkish authorities and international human rights organizations not to allow the extradition from Turkey of a citizen of Tajikistan, Saidullo Valiev, who was detained recently.
The Tajik authorities do not give up opportunities to obtain extradition of the representatives of the Tajik opposition and even their relatives from a number of countries in the hope that these countries are able to forget the legal and civilized norms for the sake of partnership. Earlier, on March 19, 2018 at the request of the government of Tajikistan in Istanbul, the leader of the Tajik opposition movement «Group 24» Zafar Turaev and activist Nasim Sharipov were detained.
According to the Payom.net Internet portal, Saidullo Valiev was detained on May 3, 2018 in Istanbul at his workplace, and the representatives of the Turkish authorities demanded from him to buy a ticket to Dushanbe. After the refusal, Valiyev was asked to leave Turkey on the «extradition condition» and fly to a third country: to Georgia. However, 6 hours before the flight to Tbilisi, Valiyev was offered to fly to Moldova. But on the way to the airport he was detained again and delivered to the Migrant Deportation Center of the Turkish Migration Service.
We regard these actions as threatening the safety, health and life of the citizen Saidullo Valiev and as damaging the international image of Turkey.
We urge the Turkish authorities not to return Saidullo Valiev to Tajikistan where he might face a real of being subject to torture and imprisonment on trumped-up charge.
Saidullo Valiev is the son-in-law of Mirzorakhim Kuzov, one of the members of the IRPT leadership, whose extradition from Athens’ Greek court was denied earlier to the Tajik authorities. The Tajik security forces, following an unsuccessful attempt to request the extradition of Mirzorakhim Kuzov from Europe, continued pressure on his relatives in Tajikistan. As reported, Kuzov’s brother, Rakhim Kuzov, his wife Fotima Davlatova and two of their sons in their homeland, are under pressure from the special services of Tajikistan. At the same time, the elder brother of a member of the IRPT leadership was detained and interrogated for 15 hours.
The Tajik authorities’ stance against civilized and disrespect for the norms of humanism, human rights and their own laws should not be confirmed and encouraged by other self-respecting states.
It is necessary to do everything so that the Tajik authorities stop attempts at abductions and attempts against those who think differently, as it happened to Maksud Ibragimov in Moscow.
Many questions remain about the murder in Istanbul of Umarali Kuvvatov after a series of unsuccessful attempts by Dushanbe to extradite him to Tajikistan. The countries of the world should not be on the sidelines of the Tajik authorities and help them persecute Tajik dissidents and even their relatives outside Tajikistan, as is the case with Saydullo Valiev. Citizens of Tajikistan should not become second-class people also outside their own country. By pursuing Tajik emigrants and flouting their rights outside the country, the Tajik authorities also violate the jurisdiction of other countries and international legal and civilized norms.
The Forum of Tajik Freethinkers