A court in Tajikistan has sentenced Asadullo Boboev, an opposition activist deported from Germany in June, to 17 years in jail. Human Rights Watch and other groups previously warned the German authorities that activists like Boboev could face mistreatment and criminal prosecution on politically motivated charges if returned to Tajikistan.
Boboev, 54, had lived in Germany with his family since 2017. He was involved in the Reforms and Development of Tajikistan movement, an opposition group critical of President Emomali Rahmon’s government. After Boboev was convicted under three articles of the criminal code, including “extremism through the internet,” a court sentenced Boboev on September 21, according to a media report. Tajik authorities have not published information on the case.
Boboev, who was deported from Germany on June 20, previously told media that Tajik authorities had opened a criminal extremism case against him because of social media posts criticizing the Tajik authorities. He said that the German court gave him until July 1 to prove that such a case exists, but he was deported before this deadline.
Boboev was deported to Dushanbe with his adult son, Muhammad. Boboev was detained on arrival.
Boboev is not the first Tajikistani whom Germany has deported, despite human rights groups’ concerns. Three other opposition activists deported from Germany since 2023 were also imprisoned after being returned to Tajikistan. Abdullohi Shamsiddin, Bilol Qurbonaliev, and Dilmurod Ergashev were sentenced to 7, 10, and 8 years in prison, respectively, on charges that appear to be fabricated.
International law prohibits refoulement—returning anyone to a country where they face a real risk of irreparable harm on account of serious human rights violations. While the German government has committed itself to countering governmental transnational repression, important gaps remain.
Germany has continued to return Tajik nationals even as evidence mounts that doing so delivers critics directly to the hands of the repressive security services they had, in many cases, fled.
German courts and immigration authorities should not readily deport dissidents to Tajikistan. It should explain why Boboev was deported despite the concrete warnings of serious human rights risks and should press Tajikistan to disclose information about his conviction, his treatment, and ensure that he has access to independent legal counsel.