Political Prisoners Directory
Tajikistan · PP Directory
01Overview
Quick Facts
CountryTajikistan
Age / Sex80 · male
OccupationImam of the Gozimalik district mosque
Arrested inVahdat
Held at“Kirpichny” maximum-security correctional colony in Vahdat
CategoryPolitical activity
Statusdeceased
Sentence25 years
Tajikistan · context
82documented cases
31 urgent · 14 report torture
Most common grounds
Journalism
16
Religious
3
Activism
4
Political
34
Medical
Health Concerns Identified.
Advanced age and deteriorating health; subjected to repeated torture and ill-treatment, including placement in punishment cells.
Content advisory.This case includes reports of torture or ill-treatment. The descriptions may be distressing.
Reports of Torture or Ill-treatment.
Reported to have been subjected to physical abuse or severe ill-treatment in detention, according to available sources. Such treatment, where established, violates international law.
Case Summary
Zubaidullohi Rozik was a prominent activist of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). He served as a member of the IRPT's Political Council and Presidium, head of the party’s Science Department, and editor-in-chief of its publication Najot. He was also a former imam of the Gozimalik district mosque.
Despite a lack of evidence, Rozik and other IRPT leaders were accused of plotting a coup and collaborating with General Nazarzoda. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2016. Throughout his detention, he faced ill-treatment and torture. He died in prison on September 24, 2025, at the age of 80.
May contain extraction or translation errors.
Native-Language SummaryRU • Original
Zubaidullohi Rozik a prominent activist of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). Zubaidullohi Rozik was a member of the Political Council and Presidium of the IRPT (banned in Tajikistan since 2015), head of the party’s Science Department, editor-in-chief of its publication Najot, and a former imam of the Gozimalik district mosque.
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02Charges
Charges
14 count- 01Organization of a criminal association
- 02Participation in a criminal association
- 03Incitement of social, racial, national, regional, religious (confessional) enmity or discord
- 04Public calls for violent change of the constitutional order
- 05Illegal imprisonment
- 06Preparation of sabotage
- 07Stealing of weapons, ammunitions, explosives and explosive mechanisms
- 08Murder
- 09Attempted murder
- 10Terrorism
- 11Forcible seizure of power or forcible retention of power
- 12Armed rebellion
- 13Public calls to extremist activity and public justification of extremism
- 14Polygamy
Criminal Code Articles
14 articleArt. 187 part 1Art. 187 part 2Art. 189 part 3 paragraph “a”Art. 307 part 3Art. 131 part 3 paragraph “a”Art. 32 – 309 part 2 paragraph “b”Art. 199 part 4 paragraphs “a”, “b”, “c”Art. 104 part 2 paragraphs “a”, “b”, “g”, “h”, “i”, “l”, “m”, “p”Art. 32 part 3 – 104 part 2 paragraphs “a”, “b”, “g”, “h”, “i”, “l”, “m”, “n”Art. 179 part 3 paragraph “a”Art. 306Art. 313Art. 307 (1) part 1Art. 170
03Legal framework
How to read this section
This is a plain reading of published international standards against the facts recorded on this page. It is not a finding. No court, treaty body or UN special procedure has ruled on this case, and The Detained makes no assessment of guilt, innocence or state responsibility. Each entry below appears because a specific field on this record brings the standard into play, and says which field that was.
Standards engaged
07- 01Liberty and security of personICCPR, Article 9
Nobody may be deprived of liberty except on grounds and by procedures established by law. Anyone detained is entitled to have a court decide the lawfulness of the detention without delay, and to compensation if the detention was unlawful.
On this record: This record documents a deprivation of liberty beginning with the arrest recorded below.
Treaty text - 02Fair hearing before an independent tribunalICCPR, Article 14
A fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law, with adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence, counsel of the person’s own choosing, and the right to examine witnesses.
On this record: This record carries a criminal prosecution under articles 187 part 1, 187 part 2 and 189 part 3 paragraph “a”.
Treaty text - 03Freedom of opinion and expressionICCPR, Article 19
The right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers. Restrictions are permitted only where they are provided by law and are necessary and proportionate to one of the narrow aims listed in article 19(3). General Comment No. 34 (2011) is the Human Rights Committee’s reading of that test.
On this record: The case is documented as arising from expression.
Treaty text - 04Freedom of thought, conscience and religionICCPR, Article 18
The freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief and to manifest it in worship, observance, practice and teaching, alone or with others. The freedom to hold a belief admits no restriction at all; only its manifestation may be limited, and only on the narrow grounds in article 18(3).
On this record: The case is documented as arising from religious belief or practice.
Treaty text - 05Freedom from torture and ill-treatmentICCPR and CAT, ICCPR article 7; CAT articles 2, 12, 13 and 15
The prohibition is absolute and no circumstance whatever may be invoked to justify it. Where there are reasonable grounds to believe torture has occurred, the state must carry out a prompt and impartial investigation on its own initiative, and any statement established to have been obtained by torture may not be used as evidence in any proceedings.
On this record: Torture or ill-treatment is reported on this file. The report has not been adjudicated by any court or treaty body.
Treaty text - 06Humane treatment and health care in detentionICCPR and the Nelson Mandela Rules, ICCPR article 10(1); Rules 24, 27 and 30 (2015)
Detained people are to be treated with humanity and respect for their inherent dignity. Health care is a state responsibility, prisoners are entitled to the same standard of care available in the community, and cases needing specialised treatment are to be transferred to a specialised institution or civil hospital.
On this record: Health concerns are recorded on this file.
- 07Right to life, and the duty to investigate a death in custodyICCPR, Article 6(1)
States hold a heightened duty of care towards anyone they deprive of liberty. General Comment No. 36 (2019) treats an unexplained death in custody as raising a presumption of state responsibility, and requires a prompt, independent and effective investigation. The Minnesota Protocol (2016) sets out how such an investigation is to be conducted.
On this record: A death in custody is recorded on this file.
Treaty text
Where a case like this is filed
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention sorts submissions into five categories. On the facts recorded here, a submission would most naturally be filed under:
- IIDetention resulting from the exercise of protected rightsThe conduct on this record is the exercise of a freedom the ICCPR protects, which is the question Category II asks.
Which category applies, and whether the detention is arbitrary at all, is for the Working Group to decide.
- UN Working Group on Arbitrary DetentionRoute open
Individual complaint asking the Working Group to find the detention arbitrary and to name a remedy.
Open for every state. Domestic remedies do not have to be exhausted first, and the person’s consent or that of their family is normally required.
How to submit - UN special proceduresRoute open
An urgent appeal or allegation letter to the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on torture.
Mandate holders can write to a government within days, which is why this is the fastest route on the list.
How to submit - UN Human Rights CommitteeRoute open
Individual communication under the First Optional Protocol, alleging breaches of the Covenant articles listed above.
Domestic remedies must be exhausted, or shown to be unavailable or ineffective in practice.
How to submit - UN Committee against TortureRoute closed
Individual complaint under article 22 of the Convention against Torture.
This state has not made the article 22 declaration, so the Committee cannot receive individual complaints against it.
How to submit
Filing on someone else's behalf can carry real consequences for them and for their family. The people closest to a case should decide whether it is submitted, and a lawyer or an experienced organisation should draft it.
AI-assisted analysis — read first
Every model behind the scores on this page was built and trained in-house, on our own case documentation — nothing is delegated to a black box. We work glass-box: each score opens to show the exact factors that moved it (the "Why this score?" panels), and the full training and calibration methodology is public.
Models miss nuance. Scores, predictions, and summaries on this page are produced by statistical and language models from the documents we have collected. They can be incomplete or wrong, and they cannot capture the legal nuance of an individual case — sentencing above all, where outcomes turn on circumstances no model sees.
Not for court. Do not cite these figures directly in court or in legal proceedings. They are research aids, not evidence and not legal advice. Verify every detail against the original sources listed on this page before relying on it.
Not a verdict. Our findings describe patterns in the data we have documented. They are not a determination that any individual case is unjust — that judgment belongs to the people involved, their families, and competent courts and tribunals.
04Timeline
Case Timeline
Arrest date
September 16, 2015
Sentence served
11y 0mo / 25 years
06Sources
Data Source
Source vs. TD analysis
PP DirectoryCase facts, charges, dates, and status.
TD analysisRisk, surveillance & sentence estimates — probabilistic, not the source's reporting.
View all data sources →Cite this case
The Detained. (2026). Case file: Zubaidullohi Rozik (TD case cmorrqvo, record version 2026-08-16). Retrieved September 18, 2026, from https://thedetained.org/prisoners/cmorrqvo5000e1v82cf0oh7ez. Original data from Political Prisoners Directory (https://politicalprisoners.directory/prisoner/zubaidullohi-rozik/).
Formats reflect this case as an online database record. Always verify the original source before citing in legal filings.
