The lawyers of renowned legal expert Shokirjon Hakimov and journalist Rukhshona Hakimova, convicted in the “coup d'état case,” have filed a cassation appeal against the court's verdict, requesting the release of both individuals.

In early February, Shokirjon Hakimov was sentenced to 18 years in prison, while Rukhshona Hakimova received an 8-year sentence.

Relatives of Shokirjon Hakimov told the Asia-Plus news agency that on February 13, they appealed the Supreme Court's decision to a higher judicial authority—the cassation instance.

“The court's verdict was unjust; even the charges against my father were not substantiated.  My father and his lawyer rejected the accusations in court, calling them baseless.  However, the court issued an extremely harsh sentence.  On Thursday (February 13), the defense attorney filed a cassation appeal and requested a review of the verdict," one of Shokirjon Hakimov’s children stated.

The lawyer of Rukhshona Hakimova, a young journalist and mother of two small children, confirmed to Asia-Plus that he had also appealed the Supreme Court’s decision in the cassation instance.  He added that he had petitioned for his client’s release based on Article 71 of the Criminal Code ("Conditional Non-Application of Punishment").

Rukhshona Hakimova is Shokirjon Hakimov’s niece and has two children: one is 9 months old, and the other is 2.5 years old.

Relatives unable to meet with them

Meanwhile, the relatives of Shokirjon Hakimov and Rukhshona Hakimova complain that they have still been unable to see them.

One of Shokirjon Hakimov’s children said that since his arrest in July 2024, the family has been unable to visit him.

“On February 7, we wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court requesting a meeting with my father, even if only for a few minutes, but they did not respond to the letter or grant permission for a visit,” the source said.

“We had requested meetings several times before the verdict was announced, but they said the case was classified.  Now, even after the sentencing, I am still not allowed to see my father.  We just want to see him at least once," added another one of Shokirjon Hakimov’s children.

Rukhshona Hakimova’s husband is also concerned that he has not been able to see his wife since the court announced its verdict and placed her in custody.

Why were they convicted?

The Supreme Court delivered its verdict in the “coup d'état case” on February 5.

The 59-year-old Shokirjon Hakimov, lawyer and first deputy chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan, was sentenced to 18 years in prison.  The sentence followed his conviction on charges incitement of social, racial, national, regional, or religious hatred (Article 189, Part 2) and treason using official position (Article 305, Part 1, item "v").

Rukhshona Hakimova, journalist, was found guilty of aiding in the crime of treason using official position (Article 305, Part 2).  She got the jail term of 8 years.

The prosecutor had initially sought a 17-year sentence. Until the verdict, Hakimova remained free due to having two young children, but she was arrested in the courtroom immediately after the sentence was announced.

The charge of treason against Hakimova stems from a public survey she conducted on China's influence on Tajikistan as part of her work as a reporter last year.  According to available information, Hakimova’s case may be linked to her survey on “China’s Influence on Tajikistan", which was previously answered by several individuals convicted in the "coup plot" case, including Saidjafar Usmonzoda, former head of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan, sentenced to 27 years in prison, and Shokirjon Hakimov.

Rukhshona Hakimova, 31, is a graduate of the Journalism Faculty of the National University of Tajikistan. She worked at the Center for Investigative Journalism and some other media organizations.