CONVICTION OF POLITICAL LEADER STIRS OPPOSITION IRE IN TAJIKISTAN
Kambiz Arman: 1/20/04

The conviction of Shamsiddin Shamsiddinov, deputy leader of Tajikistan’s Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP), has stirred concern about an organized crackdown against Central Asia’s only legal religious party. The conviction hung on a group of unrelated charges that left party leader Said Abdullo Nuri fuming. Nuri accused the government of "illegal methods," signalling a new rift with President Imomali Rahmonov.

According to Tajikistan’s Supreme Court spokeswoman, Mashkura Sadirova, Shamsiddin Shamsiddinov drew a 16-year prison term for "organizing a criminal gang, polygamy and illegal crossings of state borders." Lutfullo Fayzulloyev, one of his alleged associates, received a 25-year prison term for the 2001 killing of Sabirjan Begijanov, a district head in Jabbar Rasulov. Two other men received terms of 16 and 18 years for illegal arms possession, murders and other crimes.

The January 12 conviction closes a long saga. In May, police arrested Shamsiddinov and accused him of murdering a city official. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. As Nuri kept relations with the government cordial and endured the trial, the murder charge eventually dissolved. Other charges in the case did not.

Nuri, who had seemed to be currying favor with Rahmonov as recently as June [for background see the EurasisNet Insight archive], changed his tone after the verdict. He accused police of unspecified "illegal methods" of interrogation and claimed that officials denied Shamsiddinov access to a lawyer. The IRP dismissed all charges as politically motivated libel, timed to precede the 2005 parliamentary election. Nuri’s party has had a long affiliation with Rahmanov’s United Tajik Opposition, which grew from disenfranchised groups after the 1992-97 civil war. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. With his new oppositional stance, Nuri has pitted the IRP against President Rahmonov, potentially weakening the power-sharing arrangement the two parties have made.

Shamsiddinov’s supporters claim that he could not have organized armed units, since he had not fought in the civil war. Pointing out that polygamy is widespread in rural areas; some observers say the anti-polygamy law has become virtually unenforced since 1991. If prosecutors pursued it aggressively, they say, prisons would overflow with polygamists. Therefore, according to his defenders, the polygamy charge serves as a pretext to embarrass and convict Shamsiddinov.

His supporters also argue that "illegal crossings of state borders" sounds like a concocted charge. They point out that Shamsiddinov had returned to Tajikistan in hopes of living under amnesty laws from 1997 and 1999. However, the court officials date some of his crimes after the war, which they say obviates the amnesty laws. Precise details of the alleged offenses remain unclear.

What is clear is that the IRP is ready to ramp up criticism of the authorities, though it may be doing so too late to have much impact. In November, a Dushanbe newspaper quoted one of Nuri’s top deputies, Muhiddin Kabiri, warning that the next election constitute a "serious test" for Tajikistani democracy. Nuri has found himself under pressure to forcefully condemn the government’s tactics, and he promised reporters that he would personally seek redress in the Shamsiddinov case. But Nuri’s June support for a pro-presidential constitutional amendment may have lessened his influence. The amendment, passed by referendum, authorizes Rahmonov to seek the presidency until 2020. With that option, Rahmonov has shown increasing impatience toward government opponents.

In late November, Tajik Democratic Party leader Mahmadruzi Iskandarov lost his post as head of Tajikgaz, the state-owned gas company. Iskandarov, who had served as a commander in the UTO, told the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran that the sacking came after he had spoken harshly about the government’s conduct. He also reportedly pledged to devote his energies to boosting Democrats’ chances in 2004 parliamentary and 2006 presidential elections.
Meanwhile, another IRP member, Qosim Rahimov, went into court in December on charges that he raped eight girls. A conviction on this charge could carry the death penalty. IRP has dismissed this case- whose charges recall ones that Kazakhstan brought against a vigilant reporter [for background see the EurasiaNet Insight archive] - as politically motivated as well.

Editor’s Note: Kambiz Arman is the pseudonym for an independent journalist based in Dushanbe.

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Posted January 20, 2004 © Eurasianet
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