DUSHANBE, October 9, 2014, Asia-Plus – On Thursday October 9, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan banned the Group 24 opposition movement as extremist on the basis of a suit filed by the Prosecutor-General’s Office.

Supreme Court judge, Ms. Salomat Hakimova, ruled that Group 24, which is led by fugitive Tajik businessman Umarali Quvvatov, is ‘extremist’ and therefore is banned in Tajikistan.

Its website and printed materials were also banned.

The October 9 decision followed growing government pressure on the opposition group after it used the Internet to call for an antigovernment protest in downtown Dushanbe on October 10.

We will recall that the Prosecutor-General’s Office of Tajikistan proposes to ban the Group 24 opposition movement as an extremist group.

A statement, released by Tajik chief prosecutor’s office on October 7, in particular, notes that Umarali Quvvatov is suspected of being involved in fraud and misappropriation.  The statement says that the main objective of Group 24 is in seizing power in Tajikistan in an unconstitutional way. 

In this connection, the Prosecutor-General’s Office has filed a suit in the Supreme Court asking to ban Group 24 as an extremist group.

Media reports in Tajikistan link Group 24''s online calls for street protests in Dushanbe with blocking of hundreds of websites, including Facebook and YouTube, which have been inaccessible across the country since October 5.

Umarali Quvvatov first made headlines in the summer of 2012 when he fled Tajikistan for Moscow.  There he formed an organization called Group 24, which he claims is a new political movement opposed to incumbent President Rahmon.

Quvvatov was arrested in Dubai on December 23, 2012 at the request of Tajik authorities.  He is accused of illegally obtaining about $1.2 million through fraudulent business activities.  Quvvatov denounced the fraud case against him and accused Tajik President Emomali Rahmon of running a “totalitarian regime.”  In an open letter smuggled out of the detention center, Umarali Quvvatov said the accusations leveled against him were “a direct consequence” of his battle against the “oppression of the Tajik people” by Rahmon''s government.

Quvvatov was released from the detention center in Dubai on September 26, 2013 and according to some sources he is currently in Turkey.