Exeter Central Asian Studies: Kabiri Muhiddin exile

The report states that the Exeter Central Asian Studies Network profile on Muhiddin Kabiri documents his exile from Tajikistan following years of pressure on the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), which he has led since 2006. The report states that Kabiri went into self-imposed exile in Turkey in June 2015, fearing criminal prosecution on allegations of illegal privatization dating back sixteen years, after the IRPT lost its parliamentary seats in the March 2015 elections and faced calls for closure. The report states that after the IRPT was officially banned in September 2015, Turkish authorities informed Kabiri they could not guarantee his safety, leading him to relocate to Western Europe and change locations frequently while concealing his whereabouts. The report states that in October 2018 Kabiri was sentenced in absentia by Tajikistan’s Supreme Court to a lengthy prison term, with details of the charges and sentence length not made public. The report states that in August 2018 a person claiming to be a Tajik State Committee for National Security (GKNB) officer reported having been ordered to assist in preparations to assassinate Kabiri. The report states that relatives, including his cousin, a brother, his driver and his 95-year-old father, faced pressure, property confiscation and travel bans. The report states that Interpol issued a Red Notice in 2016 and removed it in February 2018, and that Kabiri received refugee status in an EU country in 2017.