cts of the court proceedings themselves, and about the fact that the recent appeal procedure was not open to the press. The EU wishes to receive further information on these matters.
The EU asks the Tajik authorities to ensure regular access of Mr Iskandarov's family and lawyers in accordance with Tajik law.
The unclear circumstances of Mr Iskandarov's arrest and some aspects of his detention and trial send a mixed message about democratic reform and the respect of Human Rights in Tajikistan with respect to its OSCE and other international commitments."
94. The US Department of State 2006 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Tajikistan, released on 6 March 2007, reads as follows:
"There was no official investigation into the 2005 beating and electric shocks police allegedly administered to Yoribek Ibrohimov "Shaykh" and Muhammadruzi Iskandarov while they were in custody.
...
Muhammadruzi Iskandarov, head of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan and former chairman of Tojikgaz, the country's state-run gas monopoly, remained in detention following his April 2005 kidnapping and return to the country from Moscow by unknown forces. In October 2005 the Supreme Court sentenced Iskandarov to 23 years in prison as well as other penalties, including restitution of 434,782 USD (1.5 million somoni) allegedly embezzled from Tojikgaz. While most observers believed allegations of corruption and embezzlement were well-founded, local observers, human rights activists, and the political opposition charged that Iskandarov's arrest, trial, and verdict were politically motivated to intimidate future political challengers. Although Iskandarov was convicted, he remained in a pre-trial detention facility at year's end."
95. Amnesty International, in a document entitled "Central Asia: Summary of Human Rights Concerns, January 2006-March 2007", released on 26 March 2007, described the applicant's situation as follows:
"In June 2006, the opposition Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT) expressed concern that its leader, Mamadruzi Iskandarov, continued to be held in incommunicado detention in the Ministry of National Security. In 2005, Mamadruzi Iskandarov was abducted from Moscow, Russia, where he lived in exile, after the Russian authorities refused to extradite him to Tajikistan. He was sentenced to 23 years' imprisonment by the Supreme Court in October 2005 on charges of terrorism and corruption, which he denied. He should have been moved to a prison camp shortly after the verdict but this did not happen. Supporters claimed that he was not allowed to receive parcels or newspapers and that visits of relatives and his lawyers had been obstructed. An appeal against his sentence had been turned down in a closed hearing in January 2006. At the beginning of February 2007, Mamadruzi Iskandarov was finally moved to a high security prison camp to serve the remainder of his sentence."
96. The US Department of State 2009 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Tajikistan, released on 11 March 2010, reads as follows:
"...Muhammadruzi Iskandarov, head of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan and former chairman of Tojikgaz, the country's state-run gas monopoly, remained in prison following his unlawful extradition from Russia and 2005 conviction for corruption."
THE LAW
I. Establishment of the facts
A. The parties' submissions
1. The Government
97. The Government insisted that the Russian authorities had not been involved in the applicant's kidnapping. The applicant had been released from custody following his detention pending extradition on 4 April 2005 and had never been detained in Russian territory again.
98. The applicant's allegations that he had been arrested by State agents had been dispro
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