Jailed Tajik Businessman's Lawyer Claims Family Under Official Pressure

Ishoq Tabarov is a lawyer for opposition businessman Zayd Saidov, the leader of the unregistered New Tajikistan opposition party.

A prominent Tajik lawyer, who is representing an opposition figure, has said his family is coming under pressure from the authorities because of his professional activities.

Lawyer Ishoq Tabarov told RFE/RL on March 14 that his son, Daler Tabarov, had been charged with failure to report a crime, a charge his representatives have called politically motivated.

Tabarov's other son, Firuz Tabarov, was recently sentenced to 13 1/2 years in jail for promoting antistate propaganda.

Tabarov is a lawyer for opposition businessman Zayd Saidov, the leader of the unregistered New Tajikistan opposition party.

Saidov has been serving his 29-year prison term since 2013. He was found guilty of financial fraud, polygamy, and sexual relations with a minor.

Saidov and his supporters have denied the charges and said they are politically motivated.

Saidov's other lawyer, Shuhrat Qudratov, was sentenced to nine years in prison on a bribe-taking charge in January 2015.