Watchdog

BISHKEK -- Orozaiym Narmatova, a member of the opposition United Kyrgyzstan political party and an outspoken critic of President Sadyr Japarov, has been detained in the southern city of Osh as she tried to leave the country.

Narmatova's lawyer, Seiitbek Dovlotov, told RFE/RL that his client was arrested at the Osh airport when trying to leave for Russia on September 10.

Dovlotov said that Narmatova, who currently lives in Russia, was detained on suspicion of publicly calling for people to seize power from the government, adding that the arrest was sanctioned by a court in Bishkek, the capital.

United Kyrgyzstan's leader, Adakhan Madumarov, called Narmatova’s detention "an act of blatant lawlessness," and demanded her immediate release.

The party's representative in Osh, Zamir Shamshidin, told RFE/RL that investigators have transferred Narmatova to Bishkek.

The Interior Ministry issued a statement saying that Narmatova, who is also a leader of the I Do Not Agree and I Have Rights movements, was detained for "holding frequent gatherings in Russia at which she constantly expressed unfounded criticism targeting the Kyrgyzstan’s political leadership with the aim of increasing the mood among labor migrants and people residing in Kyrgyzstan to protest."

The ministry accused Narmatova of wanting to create conditions for inciting inter-regional hatred and aiming to seize power.

Narmatova came to Kyrgyzstan several days ago to attend a funeral for one of her relatives and was trying to return to Russia on September 10.

She has been one of Japarov's most-vocal critics, chiding him for failing to follow through on the promises to increase freedoms that he made when he came to power in the wake of anti-government demonstrations after disputed parliamentary elections in October.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling on Tajikistan to add an ailing 70-year-old journalist who has been imprisoned for six years on politically motivated charges to a list of thousands of prisoners due to be freed under a mass presidential amnesty.

Hikmatullo Saifullozoda, a member of the banned Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), “is being held in the most appalling conditions” and has “many health problems,” the Paris-based media freedom watchdog said in a statement on September 9.

According to the group, Saifullozoda contracted a serious form of COVID-19 and underwent a heart operation in June in the infirmary of the prison where he is being held.

Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, said the journalist “is in danger of dying in prison.”

“Detained for purely political reasons, he risks spending another 10 years behind bars, where he is the victim of mistreatment. His release could save his life. Furthermore, he poses no danger to society or to the authorities in Tajikistan.”

Saifullozoda, the editor of the IRPT's Najot (Salvation) newspaper, was arrested in 2015 and sentenced the following year to 16 years in prison after a court found him guilty of involvement in a purported insurrection against Rahmon's government.

More than 16,000 prisoners are expected to be freed under the amnesty law adopted by parliament earlier this month and signed by President Emomali Rahmon to mark the 30th anniversary of Tajikistan’s independence on September 9.

Saifullozoda “will probably not be among those who are released,” RSF said, adding that his sentence “will probably be reduced by only four years, although he should benefit from the priority release reserved for persons over the age of 55 who are seriously ill.”

The IRPT, long an influential party with representatives in the Tajik government and parliament, was labeled an extremist and terrorist group and banned in September 2015 -- moves the party and human rights groups say were unjustified and politically motivated.

Dozens of IRPT officials and supporters have been prosecuted and many of them imprisoned, drawing further criticism of Rahmon's government from rights groups.

As a result of “increasingly repressive policies,” Tajikistan has fallen 46 places in RSF's World Press Freedom Index since 2015 and is now ranked 162nd out of 180 countries.