Khudoydodova, Shabnam
Member of Maksud Ibragimov's 'Youth for the revival of Tajikistan'. On 20 January, he disappeared in Moscow and soon it transpired that he was in Tajikistan. There is still little known about his location. In January 2015, Shabnam Khudoydodova’s house was searched, her mother and all those with whom she maintained contact in Tajikistan were questioned (Atayeva, 2016).
Who, Why and How exiled: Khudoydodova actively supported the critical opinions of the political opposition of Tajikistan in social networks, she emphasised the need for democratic reforms in her home country of Tajikistan. Khudoydodova participated in humanitarian rallies in support of Tajik migrant workers. Khudoydodova had been living in Russia, but after learning on 12th July 2015 that Tajik authorities might be preparing to kidnap or forcibly return her to Tajikistan, she fled to Belarus, where she had planned to apply for refugee status with the United Nations refugee agency in Minsk (Human Rights Watch, 2016).
Stage 1 details (accusations/ charges/ Interpol notice/ extradition requests): Khudoydodova was charged under Article 37 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan-Criminal Liability of Accomplices. An INTERPOL 'red notice' was issued. (Asia-Plus, 2016).
Stage 2 details (arrest/ detention/ extradition): On 15th July 2015, Khudoydodova was arrested while crossing the Russian-Belarusian border. She was further detained at the request of Tajikistan. Held in a pre-trial investigations prison of Brest (Radio Free Europe, 2015).
Other actions during Stages 1–3 (dispossession/ overseas assets frozen/ intimidation/ action against associates/ …): The persecution of the Khudoydodova family intensified after she spoke at the OSCE Meeting in Warsaw in September 2016. After the OSCE meeting in Poland, more than a hundred local residents gathered at the house of Shabnam Khudoydova, shouting that the woman was an enemy of the people, and demanding that she stop criticising President Rahmon. Her 9-year-old daughter was kicked out of school and beaten (Fergana News, 2017). Khudoydodova's family is under constant surveillance of the authorities in Tajikistan, they have requested all the documents of the family, in particular civil and foreign passports, as well as a certificate of the birth of Khudoydodova's daughter (Fergana News, 2017). In August 2018, however, the family was allowed to leave the country to reunite with Khudoydodova. (H.R.W., 2018)
Legal status (refugee/ asylum seeker/ resident): Had planned to apply for refugee status in Poland (Human Rights Watch, 2016; Fergana News, 2017).
Current status: On the 22th February 2016, Khudoydodova was released from the Detention Centre. She is currently in conditions guaranteeing her safety (Atayeva, 2016). In August 2018 her daughter, mother and brother were allowed to leave Tajikistan, too, to reunite with Khudoydodova (H.R.W., 2018).
Press sources: Nadejda Atayeva, 2015. "A member of Group 24 of Tajikistan Shabnam Khudoydodova arrested in Belarus", 18th June 2015. [Online]. Available at: http://nadejda-atayeva-en.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/a-member-of-group-24-of-tajikistan_18.html Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, "Belarus asked not to extradite Tajikistan Shabnam", 4th July 2015. [Online]. Available at: http://rus.ozodi.org/content/article/27109365.html Nadejda Atayeva, 2016. 'Shabnam Khudoydodova is free!', 26nd February 2016. [Online]. Available at: http://nadejda-atayeva-en.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/shabnam-khudoydodova-is-free.html Human Rights Watch, 2016. "UPR Submission Tajikistan September 2015 & Addendum April 2016" , 8th April 2016.[Online]. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/04/08/upr-submission-tajikistan-september-2015-addendum-april-2016 (Last accessed on the 16th April 2016) Asia-Plus, 2016. "Shabnam Khudoydodova will not be extradited to Tajikistan", 23rd February 2016. [Online]. Available at: http://news.tj/en/news/shabnam-khudoydodova-will-not-be-extradited-tajikistan Fergana News,2017. "Tаджикистан: Силовики преследуют семью правозащитницы Шабнам Худойдодовой", 11th January, 2017. [Online]. Available at: http://www.fergananews.com/news/25829