Tajikistan Protests Opposition Leader's Visit to Tehran

On Tuesday, January 8, the Tajik Foreign Ministry officially protested the participation of Mohiuddin Kabiri, the leader of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, in a conference in Tehran by summoning the Iranian ambassador to the country. This ministry summoned Hojjatollah Faghani, the Iranian ambassador in Dushanbe, after news and photos related to the conference were published in the media and social networks. According to the Tajik section of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Tajik government communicated its objection to Kabiri's presence at the international Islamic unity conference in Tehran through an official letter to the Iranian ambassador. Alongside Tajikistan's government officials such as Makram Abdulqadirzoda, head of the Islamic Center, Sulayman Dolotov, head of the State Committee for Religion and National Ceremonies, and Faizullah Baratzoda, head of the Tajikistan Center for Islamic Studies, Mohiuddin Kabiri, who has been in exile since spring this year, also participated, and their photos were shared on social media. During the conference, Kabiri had a brief conversation with Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, which was published on the official website of the Iranian leader. The 28th International Islamic Unity Conference was held in Tehran in recent days coinciding with the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet of Islam. In an official note, the Tajik Foreign Ministry described the actions of the organizers of the Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran as 'unacceptable' and warned that such actions harm 'the good relations between Iran and Tajikistan.' Iran has not yet reacted or made any official statement regarding the ban on the activities of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan. In its statement, the Tajik Foreign Ministry described the Islamic Renaissance Party as an 'extremist and terrorist' party and accused Mohiuddin Kabiri, its leader, of attempting a 'coup.' Following the unrest last summer that resulted in the death of Abdulkhalim Nazarzoda, the former deputy defense minister, and several of his supporters, the Tajik government accused the Islamic Renaissance Party of complicity in planning and executing a coup. Following that operation, several activists of the Islamic Renaissance Party and relatives of Nazarzoda were arrested. Subsequently, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan declared the Islamic Renaissance Party a 'terrorist and extremist' party and banned its activities in Tajikistan. These accusations have led Tajik judicial authorities to place Kabiri's name on Interpol's wanted list and request his arrest and extradition to Tajikistan. Meanwhile, Mohiuddin Kabiri has denied the accusations against him and his party of complicity with General Nazarzoda, considering them a pretext for banning the Islamic Renaissance Party's activities. After his party was deprived of representation in the country's elections last winter, Kabiri left Tajikistan in protest against the electoral process and is reported to be in exile in a European country. Human rights groups have condemned the 'arbitrary arrests and torture' of members and activists of the Islamic Renaissance Party and have called on the Tajik government to end the repression of its political opponents and respect the political freedoms of citizens. Some of these organizations have stated that the ban on the Islamic Renaissance Party means the annulment of the 1997 peace agreements that ended the five-year civil war (1992-1997) in Tajikistan. The Islamic Renaissance Party was the main opposition force during the civil war and was a key party in the UN-led peace negotiations.