Alex Sodiqov

Alexander Sodiqov
Born September 17, 1983
Panjakent, Tajikistan
Nationality Tajikistan
Occupation PhD Student
Known for Captured and accused of spying, by Tajikistan security officials

Alexander Sodiqov (English: Александр Sодиков / Tajik: Александр Содиқов) is a political science PhD student at the University of Toronto, who was apprehended by security officials in Tajikistan on June 16, 2014 and charged with treason and espionage.

Overview

Sodiqov was born in the town of Panjakent, in northern Tajikistan. He graduated from the Russian-Tajik Slavonic University with a degree in international relations and received a master's degree in conflict, development and security from the University of Leeds in 2008. Sodiqov worked for the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and UNICEF, and lectured at the Russian-Tajik Slavonic University in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. He also blogged at Tajikistan Monitor and served as Central Asia Editor at Global Voices Online. In 2011, Sodiqov was admitted to the PhD program in political science at the University of Toronto, Canada.[1][2][3]

Arrest and charges

He returned to Tajikistan with his wife and daughter in June 2014 to work on a research project funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council. Under this project, Sodiqov had a contract with the University of Exeter. The project was investigating "the failure of Western approaches to conflict management" in former Soviet republics.[4][5]

On June 15, Sodiqov traveled to Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in eastern Tajikistan, to interview a number of civil society representatives. There had been an outbreak of violence in Khorog in 2012, that was the subject of the study Sodiqov worked on. On June 16, he was apprehended during an interview with Alim Sherzamonov, the head of the local branch of the Social-Democratic Party of Tajikistan (SDPT), in Khorog.[6][7][8]

Tajikistan's State Committee for National Security (SCNS) issued a statement on June 17, 2014, that stated that Sodiqov had been detained for collecting information "which undermined national security". The SCNS alleged that Sodiqov was paid for the work by "a foreign intelligence service".[9][10][11] Within the next several days, Sodiqov appeared at least twice on national television. The heavily edited video aimed at discrediting both him and the opposition politician he had been meeting at the time of his apprehension.[12][13]

Following Sodiqov's detention, the project he had been working on, the University of Exeter, University of Toronto, and UK Economic and Social Research Council made statements confirming that Sodiqov was a scholar under a research contract with the University of Exeter, rather than a spy paid by a foreign government. They also confirmed that the purpose of Sodiqov's trip to Khorog had been purely academic.[14][15][16]

Despite these reassurances, the SCNS formally charged Sodiqov under Article 305 of Tajikistan's Criminal Code ("High Treason"), which carries a prison sentence of between 12 and 20 years.[17] He was placed in the SCNS pre-trial detention centre (SIZO) on 19 June 2014[18] and his case was classified by the SCNS as "top secret".[19]

International pressure and release

Sodiqov's arrest on espionage and treason charges generated international outcry, with many rights groups and watchdogs calling for information, fair treatment and for his release. Within days after the scholar was detained, the Embassy of Great Britain in Tajikistan expressed concern about his treatment, while the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media expressed concern about the scholar's "disappearance" and demanded information about his whereabouts.[20] Freedom House demanded that Tajikistan immediately provide information about where and why the scholar was held by the authorities.[21] Human Rights Watch called on Tajikistan to "immediately release or credibly charge" Sodiqov.[22] Amnesty International called Sodiqov a "prisoner of conscience" and described charges laid against him as "politically motivated".[23] Reporters Without Borders called for Sodiqov's immediate release.

According to the Toronto Star, by June 19, over one hundred of his Sodiqov's colleagues, from around the World, had signed a petition, requesting his release.[24] On July 24 it was reported that Sodiqov had been released, but told to remain in the country whilst charges of spying leveled against him were investigated.[25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Alexander Sodiqov. Linkedin. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  2. ↑ About. Tajikistan Monitor. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  3. ↑ Mariya Yanovskaya. "Нашли шпиона. Таджикские спецслужбы показывают класс [They got a spy. Tajik security services show their worth]". Fergana News, 2014-06-19. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Statement by Dr John Heathershaw regarding detention of Alexander Sodiqov in Khorog", Asia-Plus (Dushanbe), 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  5. ↑ "Rising Powers and Conflict Management in Central Asia: Project Details". Retrieved 2014-07-31
  6. ↑ "Правоохранители ГБАО прервали встречу западного конфликтолога с гражданским обществом Хорога [Security agencies in GBAO did not let a western scholar meet with civil society in Khorog" (in Russian), Asia-Plus (Dushanbe), 2014-06-16. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  7. ↑ "Authorities Detain Tajik Researcher, Whereabouts Uncertain", EurasiaNet, 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  8. ↑ Terry Davidson (2014-06-18). "University of Toronto student arrested in Tajikistan". Toronto: Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on 2014-06-19. Fears are mounting for the safety of a University of Toronto student arrested Monday in the high-risk Central Asian country of Tajikistan.
  9. ↑ Заявление УГКНБ РТ по ГБАО [Statement SCNS RT GBAO] (in Russian). Government of Tajikistan. 2014-06-17. Archived from the original on 2014-06-19.
  10. ↑ Ellery Biddle, Lisa Ferguson, Hae-in Lim, Sarah Myers West (2014-06-18). "Netizen Report: Tajikistan Arrests Canadian Student, Partially Blocks YouTube and Google". Slate magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-06-19. The day after his disappearance, Tajik state security officials released a statement confirming that Sodiqov had been detained for carrying out “subversion and espionage” on behalf of a foreign country. On the contrary, as his academic adviser put it, “Alexander is a researcher, not a spy.” Supporters are using the hashtag #FreeAlexSodiqov to call for his release.
  11. ↑ "УГКНБ по ГБАО: Александр Содиков вел диверсионно-разведывательную работу [SCNS in GBAO: Alexander Sodiqov was involved in subversion and espionage" Asia-Plus (Dushanbe), 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  12. ↑ Chris Rickleton (2014-06-19). "Fears grow for Canadian researcher arrested in Tajikistan". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-06-19. Tajik authorities are said to have paraded University of Toronto researcher Alexander Sodiqov, who disappeared three days ago, on television in an apparent attempt to discredit both him and an opposition politician.
  13. ↑ "Александр Содиков появился в эфире хорогского ТВ [Alexander Sodiqov appeared on Khorog TV" (in Russian), Asia-Plus (Dushanbe), 2014-06-19. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  14. ↑ "Statement by Dr John Heathershaw regarding detention of Alexander Sodiqov in Khorog", Asia-Plus (Dushanbe), 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  15. ↑ "University of Exeter makes statement regarding detention of Alexander Sodiqov in Khorog", Asia-Plus (Dushanbe), 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  16. ↑ "ESRC makes statement regarding detention of Alexander Sodiqov", Asia-Plus (Dushanbe), 2014-06-25. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  17. ↑ John Heathershaw. "Consequences of the detention of Alexander Sodiqov". Open Democracy, 22 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-29
  18. ↑ "Александр Содиков переведен в СИЗО ГКНБ в Душанбе (Alexander Sodiqov transferred to SIZO GKNB in Dushanbe)", Asia-Plus (Dushanbe), 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  19. ↑ "На дело Содикова наложен гриф «секретно» (Sodiqov's case classified top secret)", Asia-Plus (Dushanbe), 2014-07-04. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  20. ↑ "OSCE media freedom representative concerned about disappearance of blogger in Tajikistan". OSCE, 2014-06-18. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  21. ↑ "Tajikistan Must Shed Light on Disappearance of Researcher". Freedom House, 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  22. ↑ "Tajikistan: Free or Charge Researcher". Human Rights Watch. 2014-06-19. Archived from the original on 2014-06-20. Two persons identifying themselves as officers with Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security detained Alexander Sodiqov in Khorog, capital of the autonomous republic of Gorno-Badakhshan, on suspicion of spying for an unnamed country after he met with civil society activist Alim Sherzamonov.
  23. ↑ "Urgent Action: Academic Held on Politically Motivated Charges". Amnesty International, 2014-06-25. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  24. ↑ Paul Clarke (2014-06-18). "U of T student detained in Tajikistan, accused of spying". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2014-06-19. More than a hundred professors from around the world signed an online petition expressing their concern for Alexander Sodiqov, a citizen of Tajikistan and a PhD candidate in U of T’s department of political science.
  25. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/24/canada-alexander-sodiqov-released-tajikistan

External links

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