We call on Moldova to observe the principle that prohibits forced extradition of people to countries where they may face torture. In Tajikistan opponents of the regime are systematically tortured, and Sobir Valiev is also under this threat.
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| Sobir VALIEV |
Sobir Assodulloevich VALIEV was born on 3 April 1988 in
the city of Dushanbe of Tajikistan. He has a degree in economics. He is a
citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic since 2008. In 2007, he renounced his Tajik
citizenship. This is confirmed by an official letter from the Ministry of Internal
Affairs of Tajikistan. He is married and has three children.
He is a member of the Political Council of the Group
of 24. Since April 2015 he is a Deputy Chairman of the Group of 24. In June
2015 he became a Deputy Head of the Congress of Constructive Forces, created by
the union of six opposition political organisations on the basis of a
democratic platform.
On 11 August 2015 a member of the Tajik opposition
Sabir Valiyev was detained in the Kishinev Airport at the request of Tajikistan
for his extradition. He was recently included in the wanted list under the following
Articles of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan:
307-1 (Public calls for extremist activities);
307-2 (Organisation of an extremist community).
Sobir Valiyev will stay in the detention centre of the
Police Commissariat of the Kishinev city for 40 days. Meanwhile, the Moldovan
Prosecutor General's Office will consider the extradition request, made on the
basis of the Minsk Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance. Sobir Valiyev’s
lawyer has been working on the appeal against the request from Tajikistan for
his extradition. Moldova should reject the request to extradite Mr Valiev,
because the national legislation of Moldova does not provide for punishment of extremism,
- the lawyer Ion Mazur told the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia.
From March to May 2015, Sabir Valiyev lived in Turkey,
and then went to Kishinev for three months, where he officially rented a temporary
accommodation. When he was flying back from Kishinev to Istanbul, at the passport
control he learned that he was wanted.
Our organisation is in possession of a summons for
questioning on 14 March 2015, sent by the Tajik Ministry of Internal Affairs to
his home address in Tajikistan, where Sabir Valiyev previously lived
permanently. Soon, “A Traitor” graffiti in the Tajik language appeared on the
gate and the fence of his house. For the Tajik Special Services the summons is undoubtedly
a formal pretext for opening an investigative case against the famous and
courageous critic of the regime of Emomali Rakhmon. The intelligence agencies
know that he lives in Kyrgyzstan, as a citizen of that country.
According to the information available to AHRCA, Sabir
Valiyev left Tajikistan in 2007, he has his nationality of Kyrgyzstan confirmed
and complies with the passport regime of this country and all the countries
where he lives temporarily.
Tajik law enforcement agencies took interest in Sobir
Valiev while he lived in Kyrgyzstan. In the opposition media, he openly
criticised Tajik officials for their involvement in corruption and violations
of fundamental rights and freedoms. His activity intensified after the murder
of the leader of the Group 24, Umarali Kuvatov, in Istanbul. Mr Valiev openly
distributed on the Internet photos, posters and videos of critical nature, he
participated in the peaceful protest of the Tajik opposition. Among the Tajik
community his speeches are popular, including the latest one, where he
condemned the closed trial in Istanbul for the murder of Umarali Kuvatov.
Tajik law enforcement agencies claim that Mr Valiev
calls for unsanctioned rallies and abets the commission of extremist crimes.
Tajik authorities stress that Mr Valiyev is the Deputy Head of the opposition organisation
Group 24, which the Supreme Court of Tajikistan declared "extremist" in
October 2015.
Association for Human
Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA) believes
that these accusations are clearly a response to criticism by a member of opposition
Sobir Valiev, whose opinion is trusted by many Tajik citizens.
AHRCA expresses its concern at the threat of compulsory return
of Sobir Valiyev to his country of birth Tajikistan for his open expression of critical
opinions. We call on:
— Government
of the Kyrgyz Republic to provide effective protection to a citizen of this
country Sobir Valiev against persecution motivated by false and politicised
information provided by Tajikistan;
— Government
of Moldova to fulfil faithfully the conditions of Article 3 of the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
which states “No State Party shall expel,
return ("refouler") or extradite a person to another State where
there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being
subjected to torture”;
— UNHCR
representative office in Moldova to visit Sobir Valiyev urgently and consider his
application in accordance with the UN Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees: According to Valiyev, it is becoming dangerous for him to remain in
the CIS
At the same time, the
Association for Human Rights in Central Asia has informed the UN Special
Rapporteur on Torture, the OSCE, the diplomatic missions of the EU countries
and the United States, international human rights organisations.
