Germany has deported a Tajik anti-government activist to Dushanbe despite warnings by rights groups and opposition politicians that he may face torture and imprisonment if returned to Tajikistan.
Dilmurod Ergashev, 40, was handcuffed and had a black bag put over his head upon arrival in Tajikistan on November 7, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on X, citing the activist's friends.
Ergashev, a member of the Europe-based opposition movement Reform and Development of Tajikistan, has lived in Germany since 2011. He was previously a member of the Group 24 opposition organization, which Tajikistan banned in 2014.
A court in the Germany city of Kleve on October 28 ordered Ergashev's deportation after his repeated requests for political asylum were rejected.
HRW quoted Ergashev’s lawyer as saying German immigration officials had questioned whether his commitment to opposition causes was genuine.
The German Interior Ministry told RFE/RL that it does not comment on individual cases. Tajik government officials did not respond to RFE/RL's request for comment.
Several opposition members, political activists, and others linked to anti-government movements have been jailed in Tajikistan after they were either deported or forcibly returned to Dushanbe in recent years.
A Tajik court handed a 23-year prison sentence last month to Farrukh Ikromov, who was deported from Poland, Tajik opposition officials told RFE/RL.
The trial was held behind closed doors and the charges against Ikromov are unknown. The opposition says he was targeted for taking part in a 2023 protest in Berlin where Tajik opposition supporters threw eggs at President Emomali Rahmon's car during a visit to Germany.
In 2023, Germany deported Tajik nationals Bilol Qurbonaliev and Abdullo Shamsiddin, who were subsequently sentenced to 10 and seven years in prison in Tajikistan, respectively, in closed-door trials.
Qurbonaliev, a member of Group 24, was found guilty of the dubious charge of organizing a criminal group. The activist's supporters say the allegation is "illegal" and politically motivated.
Shamsiddin, the son of prominent opposition politician Shamsiddin Saidov, was convicted of attempting to overthrow the government, a charge his supporters denied. Shamsiddin was reportedly abused in custody.
In 2020, Austrian authorities extradited Tajik asylum seeker Hizbullo Shovalizoda to Tajikistan at Dushanbe's request.
Just three months after his forcible return, the government critic was sentenced to 20 years in jail for treason and membership in a banned organization. His supporters have denied the charges.
Chilling Message
Ergashev's deportation to Dushanbe has caused concern among other Tajik political asylum seekers in Europe who say they fear a similar fate amid widespread anti-migrant sentiment in Western countries.
"Every time I hear about a Tajik national being deported, I fear that I will be next," an asylum seeker told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity.
"I lived in a camp which housed many asylum seekers from different countries, and I think most of them were economic migrants. These waves of migrants coming to Europe is negatively affecting those who are genuinely seeking asylum on political grounds," the person said.
Tajik opposition groups and human rights advocates have repeatedly urged foreign governments not to deport Tajiks seeking political asylum, citing Dushanbe's long-standing clampdown on political opponents.
Dozens of opposition politicians have been jailed on terrorism and extremism-related charges since Group 24 and the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan were outlawed.
Hundreds of others have fled the country, but Dushanbe has been relentlessly hunting down its critics, even abroad.
Group 24 leader Suhrob Zafar and a prominent member of the movement, Nasimjon Sharifov, disappeared in suspicious circumstances in Turkey in early 2024.
In August, Tajik authorities admitted the two men were in custody. Zafar and Sharifov were then sentenced to 30 and 20 years in prison, respectively, in secretive trials last month.
Group 24 accuses the government of kidnapping the two opposition activists.
Sharofiddin Gadoev, the leader of the Reform and Development movement, says the deportation cases send a negative message to those who stand against the Tajik government at home and abroad.
"Such actions by Germany contribute to the strengthening of the authoritarian regime in Tajikistan and create a climate of fear among political activists," Gadoev told RFE/RL.
