On the evening of February 8, five days after the disappearance, information finally appeared about the whereabouts of Shahida Makhmadzhonova, the mother of Tajik blogger Sherzod Makhmadzhonov, also known as “Abdurahmon 09.” Recall that the woman went on February 3 to the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Vakhdat city and disappeared. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan for several days denied the detention of Makhmadzhonova and did not give information about her whereabouts. And on February 8, in the evening, a statement was published on the official website that she was detained and suspected of extremism. A criminal case has been instituted against Mahmadzhonova Shohida Davlatzhonovna under part 3 of article 307 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan. This article of the Penal Code provides for between 5 and 8 years’ imprisonment. Mahmadzhonova’s mother said she was told that her daughter was “suspected of having links with the political movement Group of 24.”
Yes, many people expected such events after the disappearance of Mahmadzhonova, we all witnessed such cases as the case of Izzat Amon, Amriddin Alovatshoev and dozens of others, there is nothing new in it. Law enforcement agencies acted according to the standard scheme: first, Shahida Makhmadzhanova was illegally abducted, and almost a week later she was declared a detainee and accused of extremism. But the cynicism of this crime is striking: after all, it is absolutely obvious that she is innocent! Rakhmonov could not get to her son, who is in Germany and decided to take revenge by planting his mother.
Under no law should a mother be held responsible for the actions of her adult child! However, for the law enforcement agencies of Tajikistan, this side of the issue is not important, they act outside the law, are ready to commit any atrocities in order to remove critics and opponents of Rakhmonov.
In the case of Makhmadzhonova, law enforcement officials began to exert pressure and threaten her a year ago for her son’s sharp criticism of Rakhmonov’s repressive policy, then left her without work, forcing her to quit “of her own free will.” But all this did not take effect on her son and he continued his activities. Now law enforcement agencies decided to act harshly: they confiscated Shohida Mahmadzhonova’s mobile phone in order to “prove” her participation in the activities of a banned party or association in Tajikistan. And ultimately, she was accused of having ties to the Political movement Group of 24.
The Political movement “Group 24” has repeatedly stated that we always report arrests of members of the movement on our website and that official statistics of Tajikistan related to the Political movement Group of 24 are untrue and simply invented.
Now we officially confirm the words of Sherzod Makhmadzhonov and his mother that neither he nor his mother Shohida Makhmadzhonov have anything to do with the Political movement “Group 24”.
The arrest of Shohida Makhmadzhonova once again indicates that the authoritarian regime of Rakhmonov by any means, illegal and inhuman, destroys its opponents. Do law enforcement officials and everyone involved in this shameful crime have no mother, wife, or daughter? Of course, they do, but they do not have such important things for a person: they have neither honor, nor shame, nor conscience. They sold their humanity for prestige and money to the shameful Rakhmonov regime.
The Group of 24 political movement strongly condemns the detention of Shohida Mahmadjonova and calls on the people and civil society of Tajikistan, as well as international human rights organizations, to work hard to close the case and release this innocent mother. This blatant crime should not go unnoticed and a tough assessment of the entire world community!
Political movement “Group 24”
