Detained Tajik Researcher Released, Asked To Stay In Dushanbe

Detained Tajik researcher Aleksandr Sodikov has been released from jail on July 22 after spending 36 days in pretrial detention in Dushanbe.

Media reports in Tajikistan cite Sodikov's relatives as saying that Sodikov was requested not to leave Dushanbe while an investigation into his case continues.

Sodikov, 31, a Tajik national residing in Canada, was detained in Tajikistan's southern city of Khorugh on June 16, shortly after speaking with civil society activists there.

He was later charged with high treason and spying.

Sodikov denies any wrongdoing, saying he had been touring Central Asia as part of his doctoral research at Britain’s University of Exeter and the University of Toronto in Canada.

With reporting by Ozodagon