Imprisoned for Their Faith—Tajikistan

On September 10, 2019, the Khujand City Court sentenced 68-year-old Shamil Khakimov to seven and a half years in prison under the fabricated charge of ‘inciting religious hatred.’* He was one of 24 of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Khujand and nearby towns in northern Tajikistan who were interrogated by officers of the Department of Organized Crime Control (DOCC) in January and February 2019. Mr. Khakimov’s lengthy sentence was subsequently reduced, and he is scheduled to be released on May 16, 2023.

Mr. Khakimov is a widower with no children and in poor health, suffering from high blood pressure and other serious health conditions. In March 2021, he was transferred to a prison medical unit, where his health improved somewhat. He has not received any professional medical care. Fellow believers are providing necessary food and medicine. Efforts are underway to locate a doctor in Tajikistan who is willing to treat Mr. Khakimov.

On February 24, 2021, Mr. Khakimov was adopted as a Religious Prisoner of Conscience by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, sponsored by Commissioner Nury Turkel, who has also called for his immediate release. In the official announcement, Commissioner Turkel explains: “Since 2019, this ailing, elderly man has been languishing in a decrepit and overcrowded prison on a bogus seven-and-a-half year prison sentence. This term could very well represent a death sentence for a man wrongly imprisoned for peacefully practicing his religious beliefs as a Jehovah’s Witness.”

On March 15, 2021, Mr. Khakimov’s lawyers filed an urgent application with the UN Human Rights Committee and an urgent request for interim measures. On March 19, 2021, the CCPR granted the request for interim measures. The CCPR requested that Tajikistan “ensure, without delay, that [Mr. Khakimov] receives adequate medical treatment in a specialized medical institution in accordance with his health care requirements, and that an alternative to imprisonment is secured for [Mr. Khakimov], while his case is pending before the [CCPR].” Mr. Khakimov filed supervisory appeals relying on the CCPR decision; however, all domestic courts, including the Supreme Court, have denied them.

In November 2021, Mr. Khakimov’s lawyers requested that the Khujand City Court grant a temporary release so he could receive necessary medical treatment, but the request was returned without any consideration. His lawyers also asked for an early conditional release directly from the prison chancellery, but Mr. Khakimov remains in prison.

1. April 18, 2022

   Mr. Khakimov is the only prisoner of faith in Tajikistan.

2. September 21, 2021

   Following a countrywide amnesty, Mr. Norov is released from prison after serving 11 months of his 3.5-year sentence.

3. September 9, 2021

   Mr. Khakimov’s sentence is further reduced by one year. He is now scheduled to be released on May 16, 2023.

4. January 7, 2021

   Mr. Norov is sentenced to three and a half years of imprisonment in a general regime colony for conscientious objection.

5. November 1, 2020

   Jovidon Bobojonov receives a presidential pardon and is released from prison after serving nine months of his two-year sentence.

6. October 1, 2020

   Rustamjon Norov is forcibly taken into custody because of his conscientiously objecting to military service and despite his request to perform alternative civilian service.

7. July 4, 2020

   The YaS 3/5 prison administration notifies Mr. Khakimov that his sentence has been reduced by two years, three months, and ten days. He is scheduled to be released on May 16, 2024.

8. April 2, 2020

   Mr. Bobojonov is sentenced to two years of imprisonment in a general regime colony.

9. January 28, 2020

   Mr. Bobojonov is charged with evasion of military service.

10. October 9, 2019

    Appeal court confirms guilty decision rendered by Khujand City Court in the case of Mr. Khakimov.

11. October 4, 2019

    Jovidon Bobojonov is forcibly taken into custody because of his refusal to enlist in the military.

12. September 10, 2019

    Mr. Khakimov is found guilty of the fabricated charge of ‘inciting religious hatred’ and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.

13. August 5, 2019

    Mr. Khakimov’s trial begins in the Khujand City Court. He remains imprisoned while his trial continues.

14. June 25, 2019

    Khujand City Court extends Mr. Khakimov’s detention until July 26, 2019.

15. May 31, 2019

    Sughd Regional Court upholds extension of Mr. Khakimov’s detention.

16. May 24, 2019

    Khujand City Court extends Mr. Khakimov’s detention until June 26, 2019.

17. April 29, 2019

    Sughd Regional Court upholds extension of Mr. Khakimov’s detention.

18. April 23, 2019

    Khujand City Court extends Mr. Khakimov’s detention until May 26, 2019.

19. March 12, 2019

    Sughd Regional Court upholds Khujand City Court decision to place Mr. Khakimov in pretrial detention for two months.

20. February 28, 2019

    Khujand City Court places Mr. Khakimov in pretrial detention for two months.

21. February 26, 2019

    Mr. Khakimov is arrested on fabricated charge of ‘inciting religious hatred.’

22. February 1, 2019

    Shamil Khakimov is summoned to the police office, searched, and interrogated. After detaining him for eight hours, the police take Mr. Khakimov to his home, where they seize his personal belongings and passport.

23. Late January–Early February 2019

    Officers of the DOCC in the city of Khujand search seven homes and interrogate 24 Witnesses, some for up to 14 hours.