Asia-Plus: Supreme Court sentences Abduhalil Holikzoda to 9 years

On 7 March 2024 Asia-Plus reported, citing the information department of the Supreme Court of Tajikistan, that the Supreme Court had sentenced Abduhalil Holikzoda (Абдухалил Холикзода), author of the book “Ҳаводиси рӯзгори ман” (“Events of my life”), to 9 years of imprisonment. According to the article, Holikzoda, an entrepreneur and head of the “Ibn Sino” clinic, was found guilty under Article 189 part 2 and Article 289 part 2 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan and ordered to pay a fine of 1,200 calculation units, equal to 76,800 somoni. The article states the verdict was handed down by the criminal-cases collegium of the Supreme Court on 22 February 2024. The article further reports that Tajik researcher Rustam Abdukodir (Рустам Абдукодир), whose name appears in the book, was sentenced under Article 189 part 2 to 4 years and 6 months, and that publisher Rajabzoda Sukhrob Toir (Раджабзода Сухроб Тоир), who printed the book at the “Ergraf” publishing house, was sentenced to 1 year under Article 295 part 1. The article notes earlier conflicting information — that Holikzoda had been sentenced to 6.5 years and Abdukodir to 4.5 years — and that sources differed on whether the publisher had been released after a fine or sentenced to a year; lawyers and relatives declined to comment. Case history: Holikzoda was detained on 7 August 2023, with the Prosecutor General’s Office announcing the arrest on 15 August on charges of “inciting social, racial, national, regional, religious enmity”. Abdukodir Rustam was arrested at the end of August. Per the Prosecutor General’s 1 December letter to Radio Ozodi, the book underwent computer, religious, literary-political and psychological expert examination by the Ministry of Culture, the Committee on Religion, the Academy of Sciences and the Tajik National University. The article notes Holikzoda turned 57 on 20 December 2023, that the book discussed the civil war of the 1990s, entrepreneurship, corruption and regional development, and that the entire print run was withdrawn from bookshops after his arrest. Sources cited: Supreme Court information department, Prosecutor General’s Office, Radio Ozodi.