Abdulmajid Rizoev
Abdulmajid Rizoev is a human rights defender and a lawyer, and was formerly a member of the Association of Young Lawyers “Amparo”, which was forcibly dissolved in 2012. As part of his human rights work, Abdulmajid Rizoev has been monitoring human rights violations occurring within the Tajikistan military during conscription and military service, and providing legal consultation to conscripts and soldiers, including those who have been subjected to physical and psychological abuse as new recruits in the army. In recent years, he has also been actively involved in defending the rights of residents in Dushanbe whose homes are to be demolished due to new construction projects underway. The defender provides the residents with legal representation, lodges complaints on their behalf and informs them of their rights to compensation and resettlement.
Human rights lawyers in Tajikistan always have to be conscious of their activities, as they receive threats against them and their families. Many members of human rights organizations, being in fear of their lives and health due to widespread use of torture in the country, prefer not to speak up openly about the violations taking place around them. The government puts further pressure on human rights NGOs through slander campaigns in mass media, intimidation on social media web-pages, unregulated administrative check-ups and “private talks” with security officers.
