Dear Mr. President,
I am writing to you with profound concern regarding the fate of Tajik journalist Rukhshona Hakimova, who has been unjustly sentenced to eight years in prison on fabricated charges of espionage. Her sole “offense” was conducting journalistic research on China’s external influence in Tajikistan, which included conducting a public opinion survey on the subject.
Rukhshona is not only a professional journalist—she is also a mother of two young children, one of whom is still an infant. Her ten-month-old baby, deprived of maternal warmth, cries every night, unable to understand why her mother no longer holds her in her arms. Her elder child, only two years old, wakes up in fear, calling out for her, but is met with only silence. This cruel sentence is not merely a violation of international norms—it is an assault on human conscience itself and a fundamental violation of the sacred value of family. How can the separation of a mother from her infant child, who needs her every minute, ever be justified? How can we turn a blind eye to such injustice, where the punishment is not only prison walls but also the tears of innocent children, while Rukhshona herself languishes in a dark prison cell simply for speaking the truth? This verdict is not only a legal injustice but also a profound humanitarian tragedy.
Tajikistan today is a country where freedom of speech is crushed by repression, independent journalists are subjected to arrests, torture, and political persecution. Dozens of journalists and thousands of political prisoners are behind bars on fabricated charges. The authorities employ methods of enforced disappearances, mass executions, and intimidation to eliminate any dissent.
The United States has always stood for the protection of women and children and has been a staunch defender of press freedom. Your intervention, Mr. President, can reunite these children with their mother and reaffirm that the United States remains a bastion of democracy and human dignity.
In this regard, with the utmost respect and urgency, I urge you to take decisive action:
• Publicly address the case of Rukhshona Hakimova and call for her immediate release, along with the release of all political prisoners who have been unjustly incarcerated.
• Exert diplomatic pressure on the Tajik authorities to end their repression against journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society.
• Consider imposing targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for fabricating criminal cases and committing egregious human rights violations.
Your resolute intervention can not only save innocent lives but also uphold the democratic values for which millions of people around the world continue to fight.
With deepest respect,
Sharofiddin Gadoev
Chairman of the Movement for Reforms and Development of Tajikistan
Amsterdam, February 7, 2025
