7 January 2021
Felix Corley, Forum 18
Despite his offer to perform alternative civilian service, Khujand Military Court today (7 January) jailed Rustamjon Norov for three and a half years, the longest known sentence. The court claimed the 22-year-old Jehovah s Witness conscientious objector falsified his medical history to evade compulsory military service, charges he denies. While held in a military unit in October 2020, he was threatened with torture if he did not put on a military uniform.
Khujand Military Court in northern Tajikistan today (7 January) jailed Rustamjon Norov, a 22-year-old Jehovah s Witness conscientious objector to military service, for three and a half years. Prosecutors accused prisoner of conscience Norov of falsifying his medical history to evade compulsory military service, charges he denies. He had offered to perform alternative civilian service, but against Tajikistan s international human rights obligations the regime does not offer this.