28 May 2021
Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18
On 27 May, Asliddin Khudaiberdiyev was jailed for teaching five boys and six adult men how to read the Koran and pray. The jailing followed a police and secret police raid on a Samarkand Region mosque as Muslims were preparing to worship. The raid came as the regime publicly announced and implemented increased restrictions across the country on under-18s attending mosques. Also, Religion Law changes are still going through parliament but the regime continues to hide the text its parliament is discussing.
On 27 May, a Judge in Samarkand Region jailed Muslim teacher Asliddin Khudaiberdiyev for 15 days to punish him for teaching men and boys in a mosque how to read the Koran and say the namaz prayer. Judge Aziz Akramov refused to explain to Forum 18 why he jailed Khudaiberdiyev for 15 days. The jailing followed a police and secret police raid on the mosque.
ANKARA: A new report released Wednesday follows a trend from the US State Department in criticizing Turkey for restricting the rights of non-Muslim religious groups in the country.
The latest report focused on the challenges non-Muslim religious groups have faced in operating houses of worship, holding board elections for their foundations, and obtaining exemptions from mandatory religion courses in schools, which are in violation of the European Court of Human Rights’ 2013 ruling.
The US also expressed concerns when Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reconverted the historic Chora Church, one of Istanbul’s most celebrated Byzantine buildings, and the famed Hagia Sophia into mosques last summer.
13 May 2021
Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18
In late April the Deputy Headteacher of a Bukhara school rang Muslim parents to say that the ordinary police and the SSS secret police had visited to ask how religiously devout families and children are . Parents were warned of unspecified consequences if they teach Islam to their children, or any of their children wear the hijab. Human rights defenders have heard unconfirmed accounts that the ordinary police and SSS secret police are making similar visits to schools in other parts of the country to ask similar questions.
In late April the Deputy Headteacher of one state school in the southern city of Bukhara rang Muslim parents of at least 20 pupils at two state schools, Schools No. 14 and No. 33, stating that earlier in the month the ordinary police and the State Security Service (SSS) secret police had visited both schools. The police and SSS had asked teachers how religiously devout families and children are, and if parents influence the
10 March 2021
Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18
Prison authorities have repeatedly denied seriously ill Jehovah s Witness prisoner of conscience Shamil Khakimov the specialised medical treatment he needs. The 70-year-old has a bad leg which smells like rotten meat and has had coronavirus symptoms. The UN Mandela Rules for prisoners treatment say medical decisions must be made by doctors, and the UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Committee against Torture have both called for Tajikistan to implement the Rules. Yet the prison governor told Forum 18: I do not know what the Mandela Rules are. A Supreme Court official similarly denied knowledge of the Mandela Rules.
5 March 2021
Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18
Independent imam Sirojiddin Abdurahmonov, who was also jailed in 2010, was jailed in February for five and a half years along with an unknown number of others. Conscientious objector Rustamjon Norov s appeal against a three and a half year jail sentence is due on 11 March, and a judge has refused to explain why he allowed a Russian Orthodox nun with no connection to the case to testify for the prosecution.
On 12 February, a court in the capital Dushanbe jailed Imam Sirojiddin Abdurahmonov (widely known as Mullo Sirojiddin) for five years and six months, along with an unknown number of others. The arrests followed a November 2020 National Security Committee (NSC) secret police raid on Imam Abdurahmonov s Dushanbe flat when he was teaching a small group about Islam. The NSC also confiscated the Imam s religious books and computer.