Freedom for Eurasia is gravely concerned by reports from the family of Mahmadali Hayit, Deputy Chairman of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), alleging that he has been subjected to torture, physical abuse, and degrading treatment while serving a life sentence in prison.
According to relatives who visited Mr. Hayit on 2 June 2026, he described being subjected to severe mistreatment, including beatings, humiliation, prolonged solitary confinement, and other forms of abuse. Family members report that he has been stripped and exposed to freezing temperatures, beaten with batons, immersed in water, and repeatedly placed in punishment cells. They further state that previous assaults left him with serious injuries, including head trauma and damage to his hearing.
These allegations are deeply disturbing and, if confirmed, would constitute serious violations of Tajikistan’s obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other international human rights instruments.
Mahmadali Hayit is one of Tajikistan’s longest-serving political prisoners. He was arrested during the sweeping crackdown against the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan in 2015 and sentenced to life imprisonment following proceedings conducted behind closed doors that failed to meet international standards of fairness and due process. His case has become emblematic of the broader dismantling of political opposition in Tajikistan.
In 2018, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Mr. Hayit’s detention was arbitrary and called for his immediate and unconditional release. Despite this finding, Tajik authorities have refused to implement the Working Group’s recommendations. More than a decade after his arrest, Mahmadali Hayit remains imprisoned while credible allegations of torture and ill-treatment continue to emerge.
The reports concerning Mr. Hayit’s treatment are not occurring in isolation. They reflect a broader pattern of repression in Tajikistan, where opposition politicians, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, religious believers, and government critics have faced arbitrary detention, unfair trials, torture, enforced disappearances, and transnational repression. Over the past decade, the space for political pluralism and independent civil society has been systematically dismantled, while those responsible for serious human rights violations have continued to enjoy total impunity. Particularly alarming are the numerous reports of deaths in custody, suspicious prison fatalities, and allegations that detainees have died as a result of torture, ill-treatment, denial of adequate medical care, or abusive detention conditions.
Freedom for Eurasia calls on the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and other democratic governments to take concrete action in response to the ongoing persecution and alleged torture of Mahmadali Hayit and other political prisoners in Tajikistan.
In particular, Freedom for Eurasia urges democratic states to:
- Impose targeted sanctions, including visa bans and asset freezes, against Tajik officials, prison administrators, security officials, prosecutors, judges, and other individuals responsible for torture, arbitrary detention, politically motivated prosecutions, and other serious human rights violations;
- Expand the use of Global Magnitsky-style sanctions mechanisms to address systemic abuses committed against political opponents, independent journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, and members of religious and civil society groups in Tajikistan;
- Raise the case of Mahmadali Hayit and other political prisoners in all bilateral and multilateral engagements with Tajikistan, including within the United Nations, OSCE, Council of Europe partner frameworks, and European Union institutions;
- Support international accountability efforts, including independent investigations into allegations of torture and other grave human rights violations committed by Tajik authorities;
- Increase support for exiled Tajik civil society, independent media, human rights defenders, and victims of political persecution;
- Publicly condemn acts of transnational repression, including the targeting, rendition, intimidation, and forced return of Tajik dissidents and activists abroad.
The continued imprisonment and reported torture of Mahmadali Hayit are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of state repression that has persisted for years. The failure of Tajik authorities to implement the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, investigate allegations of torture, or provide meaningful accountability for abuses demonstrates the urgent need for stronger international action.
The prohibition of torture is absolute. No political circumstance, security concern, or criminal allegation can ever justify torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. Governments that engage in such practices must face consequences.
Freedom for Eurasia stands in solidarity with Mahmadali Hayit, his family, and all political prisoners in Tajikistan. We call on democratic governments to move beyond expressions of concern and utilize the full range of accountability tools at their disposal, including targeted sanctions, to ensure that those responsible for grave human rights abuses are held accountable.