A Tajik migrant community leader vanished in Russia earlier this month, sparking suspicions he was secretly extradited by Russia to Dushanbe. The disappearance of Amriddin Alovatshoev comes amid a probe into November anti-government rallies in the remote province of Gorno-Badakhshan.
At least 15 Tajik activists have disappeared in Russia in recent years, as Tajik officials hunt down their critics both at home and abroad. Some of them have reappeared in Tajik prisons, while the whereabouts of others remain unknown.
As Tajikistan prepares to determine who will fill an unexpectedly vacated parliament seat, some see an opening for the return of a critical voice in the legislature. Such a voice has been missing since the silencing of the famous Microphone No. 6.
