DUSHANBE, June 3, 2013, Asia-Plus:

May 1                          - The U.S. Treasury Department ordered to freeze assets of Kont Investment Bank following the U.S. president’s decree calling to block assets of those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.  Headquartered in Dushanbe, Kont Investment Bank is designated by the Department of Treasure as being controlled by Kont Kozmetik, which is owned by Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani.

May 2                          - Governments of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Norway, in partnership with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), inaugurated a power transmission line bringing electricity from Tajikistan to Afghanistan.  The Pamir Energy Company (PamirEnergy), a project company of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), and the operator of the hydroelectric power plant, now began exporting surplus energy from the cross-border regions of Tajik Ishkashim into Afghan Ishkashim.

May 3                          - A republican conference to discuss state and prospects of freedom of media in Tajikistan was held in Dushanbe.  Organized by the Tajik Media Council and other media organizations of Tajikistan under support of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, the conference discussed issues related to the ethics of journalism, legislative problem and lawsuits filed against media as well as problems of shift to digital broadcasting.

May 4-19          - An annual military exercise, dubbed Hifz-2013 (Defense -2013), was conducted in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO).  The exercise reportedly involved servicemen of the power-wielding structure and law enforcement agencies of the country along with armored vehicles, artillery as well as combat and transport helicopters.  The exercise included simulated combat maneuvers in mountain terrain.  

May 5                          - A parliamentary by-election took place in the Vose constituency, Khatlon province.  The Vose constituency numbers 94,000 voters and the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) estimated 88.1 percent of voters – or 82,808 people – turned out.  Member of the Agrarian Party of Tajikistan (APT), Zayniddin Safarov, won the by-election with some 73.2 percent of the vote, with his opponents, Ibodullo Nematov of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and self-propelled candidate Rajabi Mirzo, garnering 16.6 percent and 7.9 percent of the vote respectively.  

May 5-8            - A delegation of the Tajik MFA, led by deputy Foreign Minister, Nizomiddin Zohidov, was in Tehran, Iran on invitation of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.  On May 5, the delegation held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and an Iranian delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Behrouz Kamalvandi.  While in Tehran, Tajik delegation also held talks with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Arakchi and Iranian deputy Minister of Energy Alireza Daimi.  

May 6-7            Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip was on an official visit to Tajikistan.  The purpose of the visit was for the Estonian delegation to examine possibilities for bilateral cooperation, establish economic contacts and present the experience of Estonia’s public sector.  While in Dushanbe, Mr. Andrus Ansip held talks with President Emomali Rahmon, Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) Chairman Shukurjon Zuhurov and the Drug Control Agency (DCA) Director Rustam Nazarov.  A forum with participation of representatives of business communities of Tajikistan and Estonia took place on May 7.  Andrus Ansip and Oqil Oqilov made speeches at the forum;

                        - Dushanbe hosted the 58th meeting of the CIS Council for Rail Transport.  The meeting reportedly discussed the results of operations of the railway network in 2012 and over the first quarter of this year, guidelines for train schedule for 2013/2014, the results of the census of freight cars and preliminary results of the census of containers; the situation with mutual payments between the railway administrations over the report period, the tariff policy of railways for international shipments of freight for 2013, etc. 

May 7-8            - Tajik Minister of Culture Mirzoshorukh Asrori attended the 1st Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Culture Ministers Meeting that kicked off in Tehran yesterday.  The event that enjoyed the slogan of “Asia Is a Center of Human Civilization” reportedly brought together representatives from 32 countries of the world.  The ACD meeting reviewed cultural interactions among the member nations.

May 9               - Tajikistan celebrated Victory Day

May 10                         - Fire completely destroyed a boarding school for orphaned children in the Shouroobod district, Khatlon province.  The orphanage was home for 60 children and all of them were evacuated in time.  The Shouroobod boarding school for orphaned children was one of the oldest orphanages in Tajikistan.  Its building was constructed in 1938;  

- The Supreme Court sentenced an official with the opposition Islamic Revival Party (IRP) to 14 years in prison.  Sherik Karamkhudoyev, the head of IRP’s organization in Gorno Badakhshan, was found guilty of founding an organized criminal group, organizing mass disorders, and illegal weapons possession.  He was arrested in Khorog in July 2012, during a military operation against armed groups in the region.  Karamkhudoyev denied taking part in the fighting, and his party called his arrest politically motivated.

May 11                         - The Dushanbe prosecutor’s office instituted criminal proceedings against former Tajik ministry of industry, Zayd Saidov, who recently announced he would create a “New Tajikistan,” under the provisions of Article 170 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – polygamy.   According to the press center of the Dushanbe prosecutor’s office, criminal proceedings have been instituted against Zayd Saidov following operational information received from relevant bodies.  Zayd Saidov allegedly has four wives at the same time.

May 13                         - Two former high-ranking officers from the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption, Major-General Emom Ghoibov, former chief of the investigation department within the anticorruption agency and Colonel Odiljon Ochilov, former chief of the investigation department within anticorruption agency’s office fro Sughd province, were arrested in Dushanbe.  Criminal proceedings were instituted against Emom Ghoibov under the provisions of two articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 319 – large-scale bribery and extortion; and Article 345 (3) – preventing administration of justice and conduct of the inquiry and the preliminary investigation.  Ghoibov is reportedly suspected of committing these crimes during 2000-2003 while he served as chief prosecutor of the city of Isfara in Sughd province.  Odiljon Ochilov faces charges of large-scale extortion and bribery (Article 319 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code) and a large-scale fraud (Article 247 (3) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code).

May 13-15        - Ex-Swiss President, Ms. Ruth Dreifuss, was in Dushanbe on a working visit.  She held talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and met with Tajik human rights activists to discuss issues related to the abolition of the death penalty in Tajikistan. 

May 15                         - Lieutenant-General Saymumin Yatimov, the head of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) of Tajikistan attended a meeting of the Council of Heads of National Security Enforcement Agencies and Special Services of CIS Member Nations in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  

May 16                         - U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan Susan Elliott and the Minister of Internal Affairs Ramazon Rahimov opened two Community Policing Centers (CPCs) in Dushanbe, in response to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) request to expand the U.S. Embassy’s nationwide Community Policing Program.  The Program aims to improve the MVD’s capacity to serve Tajik citizens in a human rights-compliant manner and to enhance citizens’ trust in the police.  With U.S. Government support, a total of 19 CPCs have been established in nine districts throughout Tajikistan. Additional CPCs are expected to be created in coming months.

May 16-17        - The 12th session of the Tajik-Kyrgyz intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation took place in Dushanbe.

May 17-18        - Tajik President Emomali Rahmon was on an official visit to the Kingdom of Thailand.  President Rahmon reportedly held talks with HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Thai Senate Speaker Nikom Wairatpanij.  Tajikistan and Thailand signed the agreement on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains.  While in Bangkok, President Rahmon also attended the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit (2nd ARWS) entitled: “Water Security ad Water-related Disaster Challenges: Leadership and Commitment.”  On the sidelines of the 2nd APWS, Tajik leader held talks with Takehiko Nakao, President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Noelin Heiser, Deputy UN Secretary General and Executive Secretary of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

May 18-22        - The 38th Annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) took place in Dushanbe.   

May 19             - A Tajik businessman and former industry minister, Zayd Saidov, was detained at the Dushanbe airport upon return from a trip abroad.  Zayd Saidov was arrested by agents of Tajikistan''s anticorruption agency.  The agency said that Saidov is accused of grave crimes, including fraud, bribery, and abuse of power.

May 19-20        - Tajik President Emomali Rahmon paid a state visit to China.  President Rahmon reportedly held talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhang Dejiang, First-ranked Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the China Development Bank (CDB) Hu Huaibang, Chairman and President of the Exim Bank of China Li Ruogu and Governor of Central China’s Henan Province Xie Fuzhan.  A number of cooperation documents were signed during Rahmon’s state visit to China.  Rahmon also held talks with top managers of a number of Chinese companies in Beijing, China.

May 21                         - Dushanbe hosted the 23rd session of the Eurasian Economic Committee (EAEC) Integration Committee’s Education Sector.

May 22                         - Zayd Saidov was ordered held in pretrial detention for up to two months.  A court in Dushanbe ruled that Saidov cannot be released on bail.  Saidov, who was member of the Dushanbe local council (Majlis), was stripped of his parliamentary immunity.  Zayd Saidov reportedly faces charges under the provisions of three articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 319 (4) – large-scale bribe-taking; Article 247 (4) – fraud committed through the misuse of powers; and Article 314 – abuse of office.  Saidov denies any wrongdoing and says his case is politically motivated.

May 23                         - A conference entitled “National Mentality and Secular State: Problems of Culture and Religious Education” took place in Dushanbe.  Tajik authorities confirmed that Tajik nationals have been found recently fighting on the side of the Islamist rebels in Syria’s ongoing civil war.  In a report released at the conference, Emom Melikov, a spokesman for the State Committee for National Security (SCNS), revealed that three Tajik fighting on the side of Islamist rebels in Syria were killed recently.  Melikov also noted that eleven Tajik youths have been killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent years.  

May 25                         - The Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society was established in Tajikistan.  A statement released by the Coalition notes that establishment of the Coalition is conditioned by the fact that “Tajik democracy and civil society are in danger.”

May 27                         - Tajik President Emomali Rahmon met with his Kyrgyz counterpart Alamzbek Atambayev in Bishkek.  The two leaders made a joint statement, in which they outlined the main direction of further bilateral cooperation between their countries;

- Defense ministers from the Collective Security treaty Organization (CSTO) member nations ministers met in Bishkek.  They reportedly signed agreements on joint combat training and a list of military weapons required by the group;

- CSTO foreign ministers met in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan;  

- The first session of the Tajik-Kyrgyz Interstate Coordination Council took place in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.  The meeting resulted in signing of a number of cooperation agreements;  

- Known Tajik poet Bozor Sobir, who has lived in Seattle, Washington (USA) over the last twenty years, returned to Tajikistan forever. The 74-year-old poet reportedly returned to Tajikistan at invitation of President Emomali Rahmon.

May 28                         - Tajik President Emomali Rahmon met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  The sides discussed a broad range of issues related to bilateral security, economic and humanitarian cooperation between Tajikistan and the Russian Federation;

- An informal summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was held in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.  The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan attended the summit to discuss measures to be taken to minimize the negative impact after international forces withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.  Emomali Rahmon reiterated that it was important for the region to remain stable and safe after the NATO-led troops'' withdrawal from Afghanistan next year.  The four presidents also discussed the construction of a railroad that would connect Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, before moving on to Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and the Persian Gulf.  The CSTO includes Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Belarus, and Armenia. 

May 29                         - A court in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district sentenced the prison warden Mahmoud Ismoilov to 5½ years in prison.  He stood trial over the death of prison inmate Hamza Ikromzoda.  The sentence followed his conviction on charges of exceeding powers (Article 316 (3) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code).  Ismoilov will serve his term in a high-security penal colony.  The trial was held behind closed doors.  Hamza Ikromzoda, 27, died at Dushanbe’s penal colony # 1 on September 20, 2012.  In 2010, Ikromzoda was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment for robbery.  His relatives claim that he was tortured. They say his body carried traces of torture, including burns caused by a heated iron.  Tajik authorities, however, denied these allegations. They maintained that Ikromzoda committed suicide by hanging and that the marks on his body were caused by desperate attempts to revive him after he had been found.