Asia Plus: Saidovs son appeal Have mercy on children

The report states that Khayrullo Saidov, son of jailed Tajik businessman and former politician Zayd Saidov, has publicly appealed to the authorities of Tajikistan not to enforce a court-ordered confiscation of the family’s last remaining residence in central Dushanbe. The report states that, according to a Facebook post by Khayrullo Saidov, court enforcement officers have begun implementing a years-old ruling that would seize apartments housing 23 people, including 17 young children, leaving them homeless. The report states that he urged authorities to show mercy and questioned whether existing law permits confiscation of property without proof of its illegal origin, and why the wife and children of a convicted person should bear the consequences. The report states that the Supreme Court of Tajikistan, responding to Radio Ozodi, confirmed that the sentence against Zayd Saidov and the confiscation order have long been in force and that implementation falls under other authorized bodies, namely the Enforcement Service, with seized property transferred to the Committee on Investment and State Property Management. The report states that Zayd Saidov, a former Minister of Industry who sought to establish the party “New Tajikistan,” was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to 26 years on charges including bribery and fraud, with a further three years added in 2015 for document forgery and illegal privatization.