Tajik opposition activist Sulaimon Davlatov has been detained in Lithuania for two months, his representatives say. According to the State Security Department (VSD), Davlatov has links to terrorist organisations.
Sharfuddin Gadoev, one of the leaders of the Tajik opposition and head of the Tajik Reform and Development Movement, told LRT.lt that Davlatov has been living in Lithuania since 2015 and was granted political asylum in 2016.
According to Gadoev, the court decided to detain Davlatov based on the conclusions of the VSD that he is a threat to Lithuania’s national security.
“He is being persecuted for political reasons. He faces torture and death in Tajikistan. He cannot defend his rights under such conditions. According to international law, and Lithuania is committed to it, they have no right to send a person back to his homeland,” he said.
In 2014, Davlatov joined the opposition movement Group 24, which led to his persecution in Tajikistan. In Lithuania, Davlatov owns a restaurant. His three minor children and his pregnant wife also live in Lithuania, and he has appealed to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda for help.
“Not all procedures were followed. Every defendant should have an opportunity to get acquainted with the charges. He was not given such an opportunity, nor was he provided with a translation of the indictment and the court decision,” Godoev said.
According to him, Davlatov is currently being held in the Foreigners’ Registration Centre in Rukla.
LRT.lt asked the Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office and the VSD for comment on the situation.
“The VSD has submitted an assessment to the Migration Department that Davlatov poses a threat to the Lithuanian national security due to his links with members and supporters of terrorist organisations, radical associations and the dissemination of radical ideas,” the VSD said in its response.
Ignotas Sungaila, the Tajik activist’s lawyer, told RFE/RL that Davlatov was detained on Friday on the grounds of a “threat to Lithuania’s national security”. The lawyer said he would appeal against Davlatov’s arrest.
In 2015, Davlatov, a former member of the opposition movements Group 24 and the Congress of Constructive Forces, was detained in Finland at the request of the Tajik authorities but was later released.
Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon has ruled the country since 1994. The Tajik opposition accuses him of usurpation of power, nepotism, persecution of opposition, and gross violations of human rights.
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