Group 24: Biography of Kuvvatov (opposition view)

The biographical article, published 8 October 2016 on the Group 24 news portal, presents the opposition movement’s own account of the life of its founder Umarali Kuvvatov (full name Kuvvatov Umarali Izzatovich). According to the article, Kuvvatov was born on 21 November 1968 in Dushanbe and grew up in an orphanage. It states he began his working life as a sander at a factory before opening businesses importing liquefied natural gas, petroleum products and building materials to Tajikistan. In 2003 he founded the company Tojiron, specialising in oil and gas transportation, and led it for 10 years; the article lists projects including “gold TRANS Tur” for international transportation, “autodiagnostics” for vehicle inspection, a brick factory, a pipeline across the Panj river, and fuel exports to Afghanistan. The article states that from 2001 to 2012, Kuvvatov worked in close collaboration with Shamsullo Sohibov, brother-in-law of President Emomali Rahmon, supplying fuels and lubricants to NATO forces in Afghanistan. It states that following a conflict with Sohibov, Kuvvatov emigrated and became an opposition activist, citing persecution by the authorities. He went first to Moscow in 2012, then to Dubai (UAE), where he was arrested in 2013 at Dushanbe’s request and held for 10 months without extradition. He moved to Turkey, where in December 2014 he and three colleagues were briefly detained at Dushanbe’s request before release. The article notes he founded Group 24 in 2012; on 9 October 2014 the Tajik Supreme Court recognised the movement as an “extremist organisation” and banned its activities. It states that Tajik authorities had filed what it describes as “fake criminal cases” against him for fraud and embezzlement. Kuvvatov was killed on 5 March 2015 in Turkey; the article presents the movement’s position that the murder was organised and executed by Tajik secret services on orders of President Rahmon. He is recorded as married to Kumrinisso Hafizova. Source cited: Group 24 News portal (opposition-movement source).