Said Saidow

Said Scherowitsch Saidow ( Russian Зайд Шерович Саидов , also Zayd Saidov , born March 20, 1958 ) is a Tajik businessman and politician . After engaging in the political opposition to longtime President of Tajikistan , Emomalij Rahmon , he was arrested in 2013 and given a long prison term.

Career

Political and economic advancement

Saidow was born on March 20, 1958 and was born with only one arm. With the independence of Tajikistan in 1991 in the course of the collapse of the Soviet Union , Saidov began his career in politics and business in the young state of Tajikistan. In the Tajik Civil War he supported the United Tajik Opposition (VTO) and took part in the negotiations on a peace treaty for them, which came to an end when it was signed on June 27, 1997 in Moscow . In the following years, Saidow became a confidante of President Rahmon and held important offices. In 1999, Saidow became chairman of the State Committee for Industrial Affairs, a forerunner to the Ministry of Industry. This was founded in 2002 and Saidow became the country's first industry minister. He held this post until 2007. Parallel to his political career, Saidow rose to become one of the most important entrepreneurs in the country. After his dismissal as Minister of the Interior, Saidow devoted himself more to his economic activities and built up a corporate empire with activities in the construction , textile industry , jewelry trade and real estate market . Saidow also benefited from his good relations with the government around the increasingly authoritarian Rahmon. In addition, from 2007 to 2013, Saidov served as chairman of the Society of Entrepreneurs and Producers in Tajikistan.

Engagement in the opposition

On April 6, 2013, a group of successful entrepreneurs, senior officials and academics expressed their intention to found the New Tajikistan Party under Saidov's leadership. Such a party from the state elite was unique in the history of Tajikistan and caused political tension in Tajikistan, which was characterized by the suppression of the opposition and the almost unassailable position of the ruling People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan and President Rahmon. Saidov announced that the party would not nominate its own candidate for the 2013 presidential election in Tajikistan , but would run for the 2015 parliamentary election in Tajikistan . In terms of content, he positioned the party as a clear opposition party to President Rahmon's course with a focus on economic reforms. Saidow criticized the government's inefficient reform policy and the widespread corruption . The pressure on the party, and especially on its chairman Saidov, increased rapidly, and according to the party, Saidov received the first death threat on May 10 .

Arrest and trial

On May 11, Saidov's house in Dushanbe was searched by interior ministry investigators while Saidov was on a business trip to Paris in his capacity as chairman of the Tajik table tennis association . On the same day, the public prosecutor opened a case against Saidov on charges of polygamy . In a second procedure, the circumstances surrounding the construction of the Dushanbe Plaza building complex by a company belonging to the Saidows group were examined. Saidov spoke out from France after these events and accused Tajik authorities of putting pressure on him to prevent the formation of the New Tajikistan Party. After he denied this request, death threats were issued against him and his children on behalf of the President of Tajikistan.

On May 19, Saidov returned to Tajikistan from Paris and was arrested immediately at Dushanbe airport. Shortly thereafter, the Tajikistan Anti-Corruption Agency opened another case against Saidov, accusing him of several cases of white-collar crime during his time as Minister of Industry. On May 20, the Dushanbe City Council, of which Saidov had previously been a member, officially lifted Saidov's political immunity after he had been illegally detained by the anti-corruption authorities for 41 hours. On May 21, Saidov was in custody taken, the charges against him denominated polygamy, detention , rape , fraud and bribery . Saidow was accused, among other things, of raping an underage woman and of living with four women. The defendant denied the charges against him. Parallel to the trial against Saidow, a campaign against the accused was staged in the state media, which portrayed him as a criminal. In addition, demonstrations by supporters of Saidov, who described the process as politically motivated, were banned. The trial of Saidov took place in camera before the Supreme Court of Tajikistan, so reporting in independent media was severely limited. One of Saidow's lawyers denounced numerous procedural errors after the trial and concluded that Saidow was not able to take legal action. The lawyers defending Saidov also came under significant pressure during the trial. One of the defense attorneys was jailed for eight months shortly before the start of the trial for allegedly outstanding credit claims from a bank.

On December 25, 2013, Saidow was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Saidov's supporters took the conviction without solid evidence as evidence of the political background of the trial and the lack of independence of the judiciary in Tajikistan. In addition to the political background of the process, economic motives were also held responsible for the crackdown on Saidow. The Tajik political scientist Parviz Mullojonov saw in Saidow primarily an entrepreneur whose property could be confiscated by the state after the conviction, but not a serious political threat to President Rahmon. The trial of Saidow was followed by human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch . Human Rights Watch condemned the trial as a blow to freedom of expression and called on the Tajik government to cease threats and repression of the opposition in the country. Saidov's condemnation was also discussed at the 122nd session of the UN Human Rights Committee . Based on a report by Khairullo Saidov, the son of Said Saidov, the committee condemned Saidov's arrest and demanded his release.

After the sentencing

The legal and political reappraisal of the Saidov case did not end with the conviction of the politician and entrepreneur, but continued to occupy Tajik courts and political observers. The Tajik judiciary continued to crack down on Saidov and his supporters, with Saidov's property confiscated, including numerous real estate. On January 13, 2015, Shukhrat Kudratov, one of Saidov's lawyers at his trial and opposition politician, was sentenced to nine years in prison. After the trial, Kudratov drew attention to the numerous irregularities and threats against Saidov's supporters. Before his arrest, Kudratov made a public appeal to non-governmental organizations , the media and the diplomatic missions in Tajikistan, in which he drew attention to the events surrounding the conviction of Saidov. After the arrest of another lawyer by Saidov, the International Court of Justice asked the Tajik government to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and the safety of individual lawyers. Non-governmental organizations described the processes as politically motivated. Despite this criticism, Saidov's prison sentence was extended by three more years after the conviction of Kudratov, bringing it to a total of 29 years.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kamolidin Nadzhmidinovich: Historical dictionary of Tajikistan . Third ed. Lanham, Maryland, ISBN 978-1-5381-0251-0 , pp. 384 .
2. ↑ ^{a b} United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Refworld | "New Tajikistan" —New Tensions? Retrieved July 6, 2020 . 
3. ^ ^{A b} Tajikistan: Long Sentence a Blow to Free Expression. February 7, 2014, accessed July 6, 2020 . 
4. ^ Controversial Tajik Tycoon Falls From Grace. Retrieved July 7, 2020 . 
5. ^ Tajikistan: UN Declares Detention of Opposition Politician Zayd Saidov in Violation of International Law. In: Freedom Now. Retrieved July 7, 2020 . 
6. ^ Tajikistan: Long Sentence a Blow to Free Expression. February 7, 2014, accessed July 7, 2020 . 
7. ^ Catherine Putz: Tajikistan Under Review: A Familiar Litany of Human Rights Concerns. Retrieved July 7, 2020 (American English). 
8. ^ Tajikistan: Human Rights Lawyer Imprisoned. January 14, 2015, accessed on July 7, 2020 . 
9. ↑ A business center in the center of Dushanbe was taken from the family of convict Zayd Saidov | Tajikistan News ASIA-Plus. Retrieved July 7, 2020 .