A lawyer in Tajikistan who has regularly defended the country’s most popular independent news agency in legal actions has been sentenced to nine years in prison.
Shukhrat Kudratov was found guilty of fraud and bribery on Tuesday (13 January) in what Human Rights Watch (HRW) declares to have been a politically motivated trial.
The conviction and sentence strike a blow to freedom of expression and the independence of the legal profession in the former Soviet republic in central Asia, says HRW.
Kudratov, who is also deputy head of the opposition social democratic party, has been known for taking on politically sensitive cases, such as representing the news agency Asia-Plus, which government officials have frequently sued for defamation.
He has also acted for victims of police torture and those accused of “religious extremism”. Most recently, Kudratov was defence counsel for Zayd Saidov, a businessman sentenced in December 2013 to 26 years in prison in a prosecution thought to have resulted from his attempt to run in the November 2013 presidential election.
“The Tajik authorities are attempting to silence one of the most active and independent voices of Tajikistan’s legal profession,” said Steve Swerdlow, HRW’s Europe and Central Asia researcher.
Kudratov was arrested in July 2014 when it was alleged that he had attempted to bribe a judge in a civil case and that he defrauded a former client of several thousand dollars.
The previous month, Kudratov had told HRW that he and his family were receiving threats and that he feared imminent arrest.
From the moment of his arrest Kudratov has denied the allegations. He has called the charges retribution for his long record of taking on politically sensitive cases and for being a leading member of the opposition party.
Source: HRW
