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Buzurgmehr Yorov.
© 2015 RFE/RL
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Serious
Blow to Independence of Legal Profession
(Bishkek, October 7, 2016) – A court in Tajikistan on
October 6, 2016, sentenced two prominent human rights lawyers to long prison
terms, Human Rights Watch, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, and Association
for Human Rights in Central Asia said today. The convictions of Buzurgmehr
Yorov and Nuriddin Makhkamov following a politically motivated trial, and harsh
sentences of 23 years for Makhkamov and 21 for Yorov, strike a blow to freedom
of expression and the independence of the legal profession in Tajikistan. The
lawyers should be immediately released and authorities should ensure the
independence of Tajikistan’s legal profession. Yorov’s and Makhkamov’s
sentences are the latest developments in an unprecedented
crackdown on
dissent in the country, including on the legal profession. Authorities have
arrested, imprisoned, and intimidated numerous
attorneys since 2014, in retaliation for representing political opponents
or their willingness to take on politically sensitive cases. Other prominent
human rights lawyers have received death threats and been threatened with
trumped up charges.
“With this prosecution, Tajik authorities are
attempting to silence two of the most active and independent voices of
Tajikistan’s legal profession,” said Steve
Swerdlow, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“Yorov’s and Makhkamov’s sentences strike directly at the independence of the
legal profession in the country.”
A Dushanbe court found Yorov and Makhkamov guilty
on criminal charges of fraud, swindling, “arousing national, racial, local or
religious hostility,” and extremism following a trial in which the prosecution
presented no credible evidence against the defendants. Yorov, formerly head of
the Sipar law firm, had a reputation for fearlessness and is known for taking
on politically sensitive cases. He was arrested within days of taking on the
representation of the now imprisoned leaders of the opposition Islamic
Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), which was Tajikistan’s most important
opposition party. It was banned by the government in September 2015, and later
declared a terrorist organization.
On September 29, 2015, officers from the Police
Unit for Combating Organized Crime arrested Yorov in circumstances that
strongly indicate that the authorities targeted him for representing opposition
party members.
At the time of his arrest, Yorov was representing
several high-ranking members of the party who had been arrested on September
16. Yorov had also declared his intention to establish a committee for the
defense of the arrested party members. The day of his arrest, Yorov gave an
interview alleging that police had tortured one of his clients, Umarali
Hisaynov (also known as Saidumar Husayni), the party’s first deputy chairman,
in pretrial detention. The authorities attempted to pressure Yorov to drop the
case. The party members he represented were sentenced
in June 2016 to
lengthy prison terms, including life in prison, in a closed trial that did not
meet fair trial standards.
Authorities initially charged Yorov under articles
247 (swindling) and 340 (fraud) of the criminal code. An Internal Ministry
spokesperson said that the alleged fraud occurred in 2010, when Yorov allegedly
received US$4,000 from a resident of the city of Istaravshan. In December 2015,
authorities added charges of “arousing national, racial, local or religious
hostility” (article 189) and extremism (articles 307 and 307.1).
On October 22, 2015, the Police Unit for Combating
Organized Crime arrested Makhkamov, a lawyer who also worked for Sipar, after
he sought to represent Yorov. Makhkamov was also charged with swindling, incitement,
and extremism charges. On November 20, after Makhkamov went on a hunger strike
to protest his arbitrary detention, authorities placed him in solitary
confinement for three days.
Authorities systematically interfered with Yorov’s
and Makhkamov’s right to counsel and severely restricted public access to the
trial, including for international observers, diplomatic representatives, and
journalists.
“The Tajik government is tightening the screws on
lawyers it deems trouble, locking up those who represent the opposition, and
even those who represent the ones who represent them,” said Marius Fossum,
regional representative at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. “Each day these
lawyers spend behind bars is a disgrace and brings shame on Tajikistan’s judicial
system.”
The Tajik government has also taken steps to
extend its control over the legal profession, significantly curtailing its
independence. In November 2015, authorities approved a new law requiring all
lawyers to renew their legal licenses with the Justice Ministry, instead of the
independent bar association or licensing body, and to retake the bar
examination every five years. Lawyers told Human Rights Watch and the Norwegian
Helsinki Committee that the test, administered by the government, is being used
to exclude those who take on politically sensitive cases. Prior to the changes,
Tajikistan had approximately 2,000 registered lawyers. Following the passage of
the new law, fewer than 500 are able to practice law in the country.
The United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of
Lawyers state that lawyers “shall not be identified with their clients’ causes
as a result of discharging their functions” and that they must be able “to
perform all their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance,
harassment or improper interference.” Furthermore, lawyers “shall not suffer,
or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other
sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional
duties, standards or ethics.”
The United States, the European Union, and
Tajikistan’s international partners should press the Tajik government to
immediately release lawyers imprisoned and detained on politically motivated
charges and to ensure that all lawyers are able to conduct their work without
fear of threats or harassment, including arbitrary arrest or prosecution.
International partners also should press Tajikistan to uphold its international
obligations to respect freedom of association, assembly, and expression.
“By locking up two human rights lawyers, Dushanbe
is sending Tajikistan’s legal community an unambiguous warning to stay away
from politically sensitive cases,” said Nadejda Atayeva, president of the
Association for Human Rights in Central Asia. “Now more than ever, Tajikistan
needs a strong and independent legal profession that can operate free of
interference or fear of retribution.”
