A son of Tajik opposition politician Shamsiddin Saidov may be extradited to Tajikistan from Germany, where he will face arbitrary arrest and torture, according to the National Alliance of Tajikistan (PMT), which unites several opposition groups in exile.
Saidov, a member of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), was sentenced in absentia in Tajikistan to 15 years in prison on extremism charges and is currently residing in the European Union.
He told RFER/RL in a brief interview on December 13 that his 32-year-old son, Abdullo Shamsiddin, may be extradited to Tajikistan due to his failure to re-register with Germany’s migration authorities on time.
“Other than that, he did not do anything wrong. We hired a lawyer to prevent his extradition,” Saidov said.
German authorities have not spoken publicly on the possible extradition of Shamsiddin.
A day earlier, PMT representative Mahmudjon Faizrahmon wrote on Twitter that, if extradited to Tajikistan, Shamsiddin may be handed a lengthy prison term similar to what IRPT activist Hizbullo Shovalizoda faced in 2020. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison on disputed extremism charges after Austrian authorities extradited him.
In 2017, based on a change to the Criminal Procedure Code, Tajik courts gained the right to convict accused people in absentia.
The IRPT, long an influential party with representatives in the government and parliament, was labeled a terrorist group and banned in 2015.
Dozens of IRPT officials and supporters have been prosecuted and many of them imprisoned, drawing criticism from human rights groups.
Tajik authorities have been criticized for cracking down on dissent for years.
In 2014, another opposition movement, Group 24, was labeled as terrorist and extremist and banned. In March 2015, the movement’s founder, Umarali Quvatov, was assassinated in Istanbul, Turkey.
Source : Rferl
