DUSHANBE, Tajikistan: On Wednesday, several former high-ranking officials in Tajikistan were sentenced to up to 27 years in prison following secret trials. Authorities accused them of attempting to orchestrate a “coup d’état” in the tightly controlled nation, which has been ruled by President Emomali Rakhmon since 1992.
The trials, which remain mostly hidden from the public eye, are classified as secret by the government, and authorities have refused to offer any details.
Though no official information about the trial has been released, the Tajik branch of U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that former Foreign Minister Khamrokhon Zarifi and Saidjafar Uzmonzoda, a former leader of a political party, were each sentenced to 27 years in prison.
