The Basmanny Court of Moscow has arrested in absentia Tajik oppositionists Sharofiddin Gadoev and Mukhammadikbol Sadurdinov under the article on dissemination of "fakes" about the Russian army by a group of persons motivated by hatred (clauses "b" and "d" of Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). Mediazona learned about this.
Gadoev and Sadurdinov were arrested in absentia on the same day at the end of May. They are both wanted in Russia.
In Tajikistan, they are also being prosecuted under criminal articles. Gadoev is the deputy head of the National Alliance of Tajikistan, an organization founded in Warsaw by political emigrants from Tajikistan. He lives in the Netherlands, where he received political asylum. Sadurdinov is the son of one of the founders of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan. He lives in France.
- Article 207.3 (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 — this is how the authorities responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that does not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under the article is 15 years in prison.