In January 2016, a court in Dushanbe has ruled to extend the detention of lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov by two months. The extension was allegedly necessary to allow for further investigation into his case.
Buzurgmehr Yorov was arrested and detained on 28 September 2015. The authorities charged him with fraud related charges. At the time of his arrest, Yorov had just started to represent thirteen senior leaders of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). They were arrested by the authorities on various charges on 16 September 2015. The IRPT had been the only Islamic political party legally registered in Central Asia before the Supreme Court of Tajikistan in September 2015, banned the party and later declared it a terrorist organization.
Lawyers for Lawyers fears that Buzurgmehr Yorov’s arrest may be related to his legal representation and defence of the thirteen leaders of the IRPT. We therefore called on the authorities to immediately release Buzurgmehr Yorov or present credible and internationally recognizable charges against him.
