Fergana News: Journalist Ulfat Mamadshoeva detained in Dushanbe on suspicion of organising GBAO protests

Fergana News («Фергана»), in an 18 May 2022 article, reports that journalist and rights defender Ulfatkhonim (“Ulfat”) Mamadshoeva (Улфатхоним / Ульфат Мамадшоева) was detained in Dushanbe on suspicion of organising the 16 May protest in Khorog, Gorno-Badakhshan (GBAO / ГБАО). The article reports that people close to the journalist told Fergana that officers of Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security (ГКНБ) took her from her home on the morning of 18 May; a search of her flat was conducted in the presence of family members and nothing suspicious was seized. The article reports that authorities had not commented on the detention, no charges had yet been brought, Mamadshoeva declined to speak to investigators without counsel, and a lawyer hired by relatives was seeking access. The article also reports the same-day detention in Sogd region of GKNB border-troops general Kholbash Kholbashev (Холбаш Холбашев), a GBAO native and Mamadshoeva’s ex-husband, citing Pamir Daily News which noted Kholbashev’s role in the 1990s in saving President Emomali Rahmon (Эмомали Рахмон) during an assassination attempt in Rushan district. The article reports that on 17 May the Tajik Interior Ministry announced that the GBAO prosecutor’s office had opened a criminal case against organisers of the 16 May Khorog rally, naming Mamadshoeva, informal Badakhshan leader Mamadbokir Mamadbokirov (Мамадбокир / Махмадбокир Махмадбокиров), and exile opposition activist Alim Sherzamonov (Алим Шерзамонов). The article reports Mamadshoeva called the accusation absurd in direct remarks to Fergana, saying she had left the Pamirs more than a week earlier, had noted a decrease in civic activity during her visit, and linked the protests to the 13 May Dushanbe court sentence of 8 years 6 months against ethnic-Pamiri MMA fighter Chorshanbe Chorshanbiev (Чоршанбе Чоршанбиев). The article gives biographical context: Mamadshoeva is described as a well-known independent journalist and civic activist who in recent years had written for Fergana and other outlets on socio-political topics, history, culture and notable figures of Gorno-Badakhshan. Sources cited: people close to the journalist, Pamir Daily News, Tajik Interior Ministry, direct quotes from Mamadshoeva to Fergana.