A Tajik political opposition group that is labeled as extremist and banned in Tajikistan says one of its activists has been detained in Russia.
The Group 24 opposition movement said on September 2 that Shobuddin Badalov was detained a day earlier in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod by several men in civilian clothes, who introduced themselves as police officials. Badalov's current whereabouts are unknown.
According to the group, Badalov's detainment is linked to his political activities and Tajik authorities must have been involved in it.
Neither Russian nor Tajik officials have issued official statements regarding the situation.
In June, Badalov and another Tajik opposition activist Rakhmatjon Muhammad, were arrested in Moscow and spent 15 days in jail after they organized a rally to protest Tajik President Emomali Rahmon's visit to the Russian capital.
Group 24 was founded by well-known businessman and opposition politician Umarali Quvatov in 2012.
In 2014, Tajikistan's Supreme Court found the group extremist and banned it. Dozens of the group's members and supporters were then arrested and many of them sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
In March 2015, Quvatov was assassinated in Istanbul, Turkey.
