Tajikistan Justice - The Times Of Central Asia

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A Eurasian Perspective on the Historic Conviction of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez

On July 16, a federal court in New York found United States Senator Robert "Bob" Menendez (D) guilty on 16 counts in a corruption trial, including charges of accepting bribes to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar, obstruction of justice and extortion. He is the first U.S. senator to be convicted as a foreign agent and the charges collectively carry a potential sentence of 222 years in prison. Bribery charges involved receiving gold bars worth over $100,000 and more than $480,000 in cash as well as a Mercedes-Benz for his wife. “This wasn't politics as usual. This was politics for profit,” summarized Damian Williams, an attorney for the Southern District of New York. According to federal prosecutors, among other things, Menendez helped secure millions of dollars of U.S. aid for Egypt and used his office to assist a multi-million-dollar deal with a Qatari fund. Egypt’s intelligence and military officials are said to have bribed him and his wife at a time when U.S. military aid to the country would have paused due to human rights concerns. Menendez also used his official position “to protect and enrich” individuals in exchange for payments, including helping a New Jersey businessman secure a halal certification monopoly with regards to U.S. meat exports to Egypt. Striking similarities to another recent “influence-for-sale” scandal For many Europeans, this U.S. case resembles the European Union’s own Qatargate scandal, which broke out in 2022 and unveiled how foreign governments (Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania) have been channeling hundreds of thousands of euros to a ring of elected European Parliament officials who, in turn, were leveraging their authority to benefit these clients. The services included “attempts to manipulate the Parliament” and “scheming to kill off six parliamentary resolutions condemning Qatar’s human rights record” as Politico reports. In his plea deal, Antonio Panzeri, the chief of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), admitted to receiving bribes as well as to leading and participating in a criminal organization. This criminal organization reportedly doled out bribes to EU officials through two NGOs named Fight Impunity and No Peace Without Justice, which were allegedly set up to launder money and help fund the scheme. In Menendez’s case, the money ran through his wife’s consultancy. Qatargate allegations extended beyond the Middle East and North Africa. For instance, Atlantico.fr reported that Panzeri and his associates may have been corrupted by at least two Kazakh criminal figures. Europeans appeared lenient on corruption as Panzeri only received a five-year prison sentence, of which four would be suspended and the one year he’d serve would be under house arrest with an electronic bracelet. Momentum behind investigations of key suspects has since waned, leading the EU Observer to call Qatargate “a missed opportunity to bring Europe to justice”. Foreign policy priorities pushed by Senator Menendez need to be re-examined When public officials are found to have used their office to promote external interests, their past policy activities should be closely examined. Bob Menendez has been a member of...

EU Urges Tajikistan to Investigate Human Rights Violations

The European Union has once again called on the Tajik authorities to investigate human rights violations thoroughly and expressed concern about imprisoned human rights defenders, journalists, and bloggers. This was announced at the eleventh annual meeting of the European Union-Tajikistan Cooperation Committee held in Dushanbe. “An independent and active civil society together with free media is essential for developing a democratic society,” the EU Delegation in Tajikistan stated. Between 2022 and 2023, eight independent Tajik journalists and bloggers were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 7 to 21 years. Several human rights defenders and civil activists were also convicted during this period. Neither statements by international organizations and human rights defenders, individual appeals to the president, nor public outcry saved them from imprisonment. The authorities found them guilty of collaborating with banned organizations, but the journalists themselves confessed under pressure and torture. The EU report also mentions the May 2022 events in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, when 34 people were killed following widespread protests and the response by security forces, where dozens of people, including civil activists, were detained and thrown behind bars for long terms. Authorities call them “members of criminal groups,” but relatives of the victims say most of them were simple civilians who had no weapons. Western organizations and countries believe that Tajik authorities violated human rights in suppressing the rally. The EU said that during the discussions, both sides exchanged views on regional and international interest issues, including the situation in Afghanistan, the increased threat of global terrorism and violent extremism, the environment, energy, trade, and other regional priorities.

Islamic State Khorasan Province

Islamic State Khorasan Province as Part of the Struggle for Central Asia

Following the high-profile terrorist attack at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall in March and reports that eight Tajik immigrants were arrested in the U.S., the media spotlight has once again fallen on Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), also known as "Wilayat Khorasan", and the "Khorasan Project.” Many observers link ISKP to the countries of Central Asia, even though the terrorist organization, as it has been designated for a long time, has purely Afghanistani roots. In addition, there is a lot of talk about its geopolitical ambitions for “recreating” the state of “Khorasan.” Where this region’s boundaries lie is the subject of debate. The most expansive definitions include northeastern Iran, western and northern Afghanistan, eastern Turkmenistan, and parts of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is important to understand, however, that clear boundaries have never existed, and neither has a state with that name. In modern times, the term “Khorasan” has only historical and cultural connotations, with no political meaning attached to it. ISKP has suffered a clear military defeat in the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and faces significant opposition there. Still, weakening and even destroying the Taliban remains an important goal for the organization. It continues to fight in several regions of Afghamistan, which has prompted the Taliban to intensify their counter-terrorism efforts. [caption id="attachment_19644" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sanaullah Ghafari, Emir of ISIS-K has a U$10 million bounty on his head; image: rewardsforjustice.net[/caption] The countries of Central Asia, having emerged out of the Soviet Union, are attractive for ISKP ideologists in the sense that they share a common historical and cultural past, while there are even linguistic similarities with Afghanistan (between the Persian languages). The Russian internet portal and analytical agency, TAdviser, points out that ISKP, through its online propaganda publication, announced the start of a new campaign against the countries of the post-Soviet space in April 2022. In June of that year, the ISKP publication, written in the Uzbek language, declared that the countries of Central and South Asia would be united under the flag of the “Islamic Caliphate.” TAdviser highlights that Turkmenistan has a special place in ISKP propaganda because according to the group a large part of what is now Turkmenistan was previously part of “Greater Khorasan,” while the foreign policy of the Turkmen authorities of actively cooperating with the Taliban is wholly at odds with the core goals of ISKP. The Lapis Lazuli corridor linking Afghanistan to Turkey, along with the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline (TAPI) which is being developed, are identified as priority targets for ISKP. But what in fact is ISKP? As previously noted by The Times of Central Asia, the answer to this question is known by only a very narrow circle. Indeed, no one can provide objective data on the qualitative and quantitative composition of ISKP. Nevertheless, the group is taking on real dimensions in the media. The threat to Central Asia from ISKP looks more virtual than real at this point. Any small group of terrorists can declare themselves part of ISKP, and, without any...

Prominent Political Figure Akbarsho Iskandarov Detained in Tajikistan

The former Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan, Akbarsho Iskandarov, has been detained in Dushanbe. During the wave of conflicts in the early 1990s, he took over as the Chairman of Parliament and served as Tajikistan's acting president. In recent years, he worked at the Institute of Philosophy, Political Science, and Law of the Academy of Sciences. Prior to this, for many years he served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Tajikistan to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. The General Prosecutor's Office summoned Akbarsho Iskandarov for questioning on June 13 and 14, following which they did not release him. The reason he was interviewed and the grounds on which he has been detained are unknown. "Investigators of the General Prosecutor's Office questioned about 50 people during these days and released them on their recognizance, while Akbarsho Iskandarov was not released," a source stated. Officials and relatives of Akbarsho Iskandarov have refused to comment. Iskandarov was detained after MP Saidjafar Usmonzoda and former Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi were also held in custody. It is not known whether these detentions are related.

Konibodom

Tajikistan Killings Happened in Isolated Area with Volatile History

A part of northern Tajikistan where a series of mysterious killings has happened in the last few months lies in the Ferghana Valley, a fertile, ethnically mixed region that is shared with neighboring Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and has been prone to border tensions and periodic concerns over religious extremism.Police investigators and journalists have gathered accounts from terrified residents of a man or men dressed in black and trying to break into homes at night. So far, there are no suggestions that the 13 murders reported in and around the Ferghana town of Konibodom since late March are connected to wider social or political fault lines in one of Central Asia’s poorest countries. Still, the killings evoke the volatile history of an isolated area of Tajikistan, separated from the rest of the country by mountains and the sliver-like shape of the northern part of the country, jammed between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The biggest portion of the Ferghana Valley lies to the east in Uzbekistan; Tajikistan received its section of it a century ago when rulers in Moscow were divvying up territory among the new Soviet republics. People used to move with relative ease around the valley but the borders hardened over the years, especially after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. There were numerous border clashes between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in the Ferghana Valley in recent years, though the two sides are now negotiating. Tajikistan’s part of the Ferghana Valley is in the country’s Sughd region and the main city is Khujand, a transit point on the ancient “Silk Road” trading network that was conquered by Alexander the Great. Konibodom is an agricultural center, known for almonds, cotton and other products – as well as, according to authorities, a rise in the recruitment of young people into extremist groups. “It was noted that terrorist and extremist crimes have increased by 17.5% in the Sughd region, and the majority of such undesirable incidents, including the involvement of young people in extremist parties and movements, have been registered in the cities of Konibodom and Isfara compared to other cities and districts of the country,” the office of Tajik Prosecutor-General Yusuf Rahmon said after he visited Konibodom in April 2023. Concerns that Tajikistan is vulnerable to terrorist recruiters are longstanding. They appear to have been validated by the alleged involvement of several Tajik citizens in a March 22 attack on a Moscow venue that killed about 145 people. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the mass killings in Russia. This month, U.S. media reported the arrests in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles of eight Tajik nationals with possible terror links.The Tajik government has downplayed questions about whether some of its severe internal restrictions, including on expressions of Islamic piethy, might be contributing to radicalization. In 2021, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon made the trip to Konibodom to preside over 21st anniversary commemorations of the accord that ended Tajikistan’s civil war after the Soviet disintegration. He denounced political Islam and recalled the cost...

Konibodom

Men in Black Blamed for Series of Murders in Northern Tajikistan

People in the Konibodom area of northern Tajikistan are locking themselves in their homes when darkness falls. Some are arming themselves. Others have left altogether out of fear. There appears to be a serial killer or killers on the loose. At least 13 people have been murdered in their homes in or near Konibodom since late March, and local police seem baffled as to who is doing this or why. It started with the killing of five members of the Sharipov family in late March. Initially investigators believed the 65-year-old head of the house had killed his wife, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren, then hanged himself, but they later determined someone broke into the home and the killer hanged the man to make it look like a domestic dispute and suicide. On the night of April 16-17, someone broke into a home in the Gafurjon Ortikov neighborhood of Konibodom and killed the husband and wife who lived there. Police said the bodies of the victims, whom police did not identify, bore the signs of a violent death. The most recent killings happened on the night of May 28-29 in the village of Sanjidzor, outside Konibodom. Mahbuba Ahmedova and her two children were killed in their home and that same night, at a different house, the deputy director of a local school, Zulho Ibragimova, her brother and brother’s wife were killed. Local law enforcement said preliminary evidence showed all six people were strangled. Locals speak about men in black who break into people’s homes at night and kill them. A video was posted, purportedly from a surveillance camera in Konibodom, that shows a person with black clothing and a black hood or mask trying to break into a home. Konibodom resident Mahsuda Kodirova said she and her daughter were sitting in the courtyard of their home a little after 10 in the evening on June 11, when a man in black clothing with a black mask suddenly appeared and approached them. Kadirova said she and her daughter screamed and ran out into the street. When the police arrived, they told Kadirova they had received many similar calls from terrified residents during the previous 48 hours. Understandably, there is panic in Konibodom. Many of the men, especially the young men of Konibodom, are currently migrant laborers in Russia who are supporting their elderly parents, wives, and children back home. The bodies of Mahbuba Ahmendova and her two children were found by neighbors after Ahmedova’s husband had been calling her from Russia and finally called a neighbor to go and check on his family. Konibodom is near the border with Kyrgyzstan and the population of the city is mixed, mostly Tajiks, but many Kyrgyz as well. Most of the victims have been ethnic Tajiks, but Ibragimova, her brother, and her brother’s wife were Kyrgyz. The seeming randomness of the victims puts everyone on edge, at least everyone still there. The Tajik news outlet Asia-Plus sent its reporters to Sanjidzor after the killings in late...