A 30-year-old Tajik lawyer has been questioned by security officers after he announced his intention to run for president in the October 11 election.
Several officers from the regional office of the State Committee for National Security visited Faromuz Irgashev at his home in the eastern city of Khorugh on September 4, his family said.
Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, reported that his family said security officers took him "to have a long walk" and talk.
On September 3, Irgashev, a member of the Gorno-Badakhshan provincial council, posted a video on social media, announcing his intention to run for president to fight corruption and injustices in the Central Asian country.
Irgashev said he had “many supporters” among the voters.
Tajikistan’s ruling People's Democratic Party officially nominated President Emomali Rahmon, already the longest-serving leader in the former Soviet Union, to run for another term.
Many in the tightly-controlled former Soviet republic expect that Rahmon will be announced the winner again.
None of Tajikistan's five presidential elections won by Rahmon has been deemed free and fair by Western election observers. Rahmon has been in power since 1992.
The opposition Social Democrat Party has recently announced that it will boycott the upcoming vote. The Islamic Renaissance Party, the country’s largest opposition group, was banned as an “terrorist organization” in 2015.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect Irgashev was questioned by security services and not detained.
