DUSHANBE, September 22, 2014, Asia-Plus -- A court in Dushanbe’s Firdavsi district has ruled that Shuhrat Qudratov, the defense lawyer, for jailed Tajik businessman Zayd Saidov, can be held in detention for two months till September 21.

The Social-Democratic Party (SDP) leader Rahmatillo Zoyirov, who represents Qudratov at his bribery trial, says the court made that decision on September 19.

According to him, representative of the anticorruption agency asked the court to extend detention for Shuhrat Qudratov for two months in connection with the case difficulty.

We will recall that Shuhrat Qudratov faces charges of bribery, attempted crime and complicity in crime.

A statement, released by the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption on July 22, notes that Shuhrat Qudratov represented Amirali Sulamayev during his fraud trial in a court in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district.

According to the statement, Qudratov offered a bribe of 2,500 U.S. dollars to Judge Nizamov for bringing in an acquittal for his client.  Qudratov was reportedly detained by anticorruption officers on July 21 while he was taking money from his client.

Criminal proceedings were instituted on July 21 under the provisions of three articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 36 – complicity in crime; Article 32 – preparation for crime or attempted crime; and Article 320 – bribery.

Shuhrat Qudratov is the deputy head of the Social-Democratic Party (SDP) and SDP leader Rahmatillo Zoyirov decided to represent Qudratov during his bribery trial.

If convicted, Shuhrat Qudratov could face between five and ten years in jail.  It is to be noted that Qudratov is the second defense lawyer for Zayd Saidov to be detained by Tajik authorities.  In March, Saidov’s defense lawyer Fakhriddin Zokirov was arrested for his alleged debts to a local bank.