In Tajikistan, the “Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights”, one of the few public organizations that provided citizens with free legal assistance, was closed.
Ikrom Sattorov, a resident of Dushanbe, was unable to use the services of lawyers from the Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights: the center told him that the organization was closed by a court decision and deprived of the opportunity to provide legal assistance to citizens.
“The announcement that the center was closed really upset me. The fact is that a certain construction company is going to demolish our houses. We wrote a collective statement and turned to the lawyers of this organization, who helped us with their useful advice,” the Dushanbe resident said in an interview with Radio Ozodi on February 27.
The termination of the activities of the NGO “Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights”, which provided citizens with free legal assistance, was announced by Deputy Minister of Justice of Tajikistan Asadullo Hakimzoda on February 16 at a press conference in Dushanbe. According to him, the organization was liquidated by the decision of the Ismoili Somoni district court of the capital on January 26, 2023.
Khakimzoda cited “late submission of notifications of financial statements, of the continuation of work” and “a number of violations in the financial and labor sphere” as the reason for the liquidation.
Human rights activists and civil activists in Tajikistan are alarmed by the closure of a public organization that not only defended the rights of citizens, but also provided them with free legal assistance.
Dilrabo Samadova, head of the Civil Liberties Office, told Radio Ozodi that Tajikistan needs organizations such as the Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights. “There are very few lawyers in Tajikistan compared to other countries in the region. The authorities should not liquidate, but on the contrary, support in every possible way organizations that provide people with free legal assistance,” says the human rights activist.
The “Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights” employed lawyers and lawyers who defended the rights of citizens free of charge both in high-profile criminal cases and in cases related to the demolition of houses in the capital. The lawyers of the organization, in particular, represented the interests of arrested journalists in courts.
Shokirjon Khakimov, Doctor of Law, does not rule out that the decision to liquidate the Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights was made after the organization’s lawyers defended civil activists and arrested journalists and bloggers last fall. This decision will not improve the image of Tajikistan in the field of human rights protection, a well-known lawyer believes.
The executive director of the “Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights” Shoira Davlatova, in an interview with Radio Ozodi, said that the liquidation process continues, therefore she cannot comment on this issue. According to her, the court decision was made on January 26 this year and has not yet entered into force. The human rights activist said that the parties would have another month after the entry into force of the court decision on the termination of the center to challenge it in the courts.
Meanwhile, one of the employees of the public organization said that the “Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights” provided the court with arguments against the claims of the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan. “Our statement is with the judge. We have not yet received a court decision to liquidate the center,” added our interlocutor, who preferred to remain anonymous. According to him, the employees of the Ministry of Justice exceeded their official powers, but he did not explain how.
It is reported that the court hearing on the liquidation of the “Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights” took only one day.
The “Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights” was one of the few public organizations where people applied for free legal assistance.
NGO “Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights” was established in 2010, five years later it was re-registered in the Ministry of Justice of the country. Over the past two years, the center’s lawyers have provided more than 400 citizens with free legal assistance.
Source: rus.ozodi
