Oslo Freedom Forum: Sharofiddin Gadoev speaker profile

The report is the Oslo Freedom Forum speaker profile for Tajik opposition politician Sharofiddin Gadoev, published ahead of his 2019 Oslo Freedom Forum talk “Inside Tajikistan’s State of Fear”. The report describes Gadoev as a member of Tajikistan’s opposition National Alliance coalition and of Group 24, an opposition political movement that, according to the report, is banned in Tajikistan. The report states that on 14 February 2019 Gadoev was abducted by Russian and Tajik intelligence services in Moscow and flown back to Tajikistan, where he was arbitrarily detained for three weeks. According to the report, he currently holds refugee status in the Netherlands, where he continues his activism to promote democracy in Tajikistan. The profile categorises his work under the Oslo Freedom Forum themes of Democracy, Activism and Enforced Disappearance. The Oslo Freedom Forum is an annual human rights conference organised by the Human Rights Foundation that brings together dissidents, activists, journalists, technologists and policymakers to address authoritarianism. The report provides a concise biographical summary rather than a detailed narrative; readers seeking a full account of Mr Gadoev’s abduction, detention in Dushanbe, forced staged videos and eventual release should consult the longer investigative reports published by OCCRP, the Human Rights Foundation, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, which cover these events in depth.