Representatives of the State Committee on National Security (SCNS) and the Dushanbe Police Department in Tajikistan raided a peaceful religious meeting held in a private apartment on July 22, 2011. The officials conducted searches of the personal belongings of those present, seized all of their religious literature and screamed at the group, alleging that it was illegal to meet together.
The owner of the apartment along with the mother and her four daughters (ages 2 to 13) were taken to the police station and interrogated for nearly seven hours. Following their release, the four young girls required medical care to cope with the resulting trauma.
The other two adults in the group were interrogated by police and the SCNS representatives for more than 20 hours. One of the detained adults was Sherzod Rahimov, a 24-year-old who suffers from a permanent disability and can walk only with the aid of crutches. The 15 police officers who interrograted him demanded he renounce his faith, and beat him repeatedly. Rahimov suffered from severe dizziness, headaches and nausea for several days after. When the police learned that Rahimov was a citizen of Uzbekistan, they insisted that they would falsely accuse him of criminal acts and threatened to torture Rahimov by putting him in an electric chair.
Rahimov had legally lived in Tajikistan with his mother and siblings since 2009. Prior to his arrest, he had applied to renew his visa. However, the SCNS seized his passport and did not return it to him until after it had expired. Rahimov was then charged with the contrived violation that he had failed to renew his visa and for “illegal” religious activity. For this, Rahimov was deported to Uzbekistan on August 17, 2011.
Such acts of religious intolerance by local officials are contrary to the guarantee of freedom of religion and association enshrined in Tajikistan’s Constitution and international treaties ratified by Tajikistan.
All those interrogated were of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith, known worldwide for their neutral stand on such things as politics and war. The main faiths in the area are Sunni Muslim 85%, Shia Muslim 5%, other 10% (2003 est.). Interestingly, Tajikistan is seeking WTO membership and has joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace.
The US government warn that lack of transparency in the legislative process and significant concerns regarding due process demonstrate the weakness of civil society in the country. Corruption is pervasive, and numerous observers have noted that power has been consolidated into the hands of a relatively small number of individuals.
