Eurasianet: Activist deported by Germany 7 years prison

The report states that a Tajik opposition activist who had been deported from Germany to Tajikistan was subsequently sentenced by a Tajik court to seven years in prison. The report states that the individual was associated with opposition structures critical of the government of President Emomali Rahmon, and that his return to Tajikistan occurred despite warnings from human rights organizations that returnees to the country face a substantial risk of politically motivated prosecution, arbitrary detention and ill-treatment. The report states that the case illustrates concerns raised by rights monitors about European states carrying out removals to Tajikistan of persons linked, even loosely, to the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) or Group 24, both of which have been designated terrorist or extremist organizations by the Tajik authorities. The report states that Tajik courts have a pattern of delivering long prison sentences in closed or semi-closed proceedings on charges of extremism, incitement of hatred or attempts against the constitutional order, with limited access to independent legal representation and restricted contact with family. The report states that the Tajik authorities have repeatedly sought the return of opposition figures from abroad through Interpol red notices and bilateral channels, and that the outcome of this case is cited by advocacy groups as evidence of the risks attached to removals to Tajikistan of politically exposed individuals.