DUSHANBE, December 13, Asia-Plus -- The first deputy chairman of the Democratic Party led by the imprisoned Mahmadruzi Iskandarov, Jumaboy Niyozov, has accused Tajik authorities of violating rights of the party’s jailed leader.  

Speaking to journalists in Dushanbe yesterday, Niyozov reiterated that despite a court ruling saying that Mahmadruzi Iskandarov should serve his jail sentence in a penal colony, he has not yet been transferred to a penal colony and is still being held in a Justice Ministry pretrial detention facility.

“Conditions of holding in a penal colony differ from conditions of holding in a prison cell and with holding Iskandarov in the ministry’s prison cell the country’s authoities violate rights of Iskandarov and the court’s ruling,” Niyozov said, adding that they have sent a letter on this subject to the Ministry of Justice  asking to review the issue and pass its resolution. 

Niyozov noted that copies of the letter had been sent to the OSCE Center in Dushanbe, UNTOP and other internaitonal organizations.  

The party''s chairman, Mahmadruzi Iskandarov, is serving a 23-year jail sentence on terror-related charges that he denies.

Niyozov also noted that a meeting of the party’s managing board held in Dushanbe on December 11 discussed the issue of organization of rally that was held outside the Ministry of Justice on November 4. 

A small rally staged by the DPT to demand that the Ministry of Justice rescind its decision to recognize Masud Sobirov as the official leader of the Democratic Party ws dispersed by the country’s authorities.  

 “A decision on holding this rally was hasty and a status of the capital city was not taken into consideration,” said Niyozov, “However, the party’s leadership supported political significance of this event.”  

A December 11 meeting also discussed issues related to the results of the polls on November 6 to elect a president, according to him.  “We consider that the election was undemocratic and completely second assessments of the presidential election offered by the OSCE observer mission,” Niyozov added.