U. Toronto Student Detained in Tajikistan

Concerned scholars have initiated a petition in support of Alexander Sodiqov, a Ph.D. student at the University of Toronto who was arrested and detained while conducting fieldwork in Tajikistan last week. Sodiqov, who is married with a young daughter, has reportedly not had any contact with his family members, lawyers, or colleagues.

As Eurasianet.org reported, Sodiqov, a Tajik citizen, was detained on charges of “subversion and espionage.” Sodiquov was conducting research in Tajikistan’s restive Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region for a British Economic and Social Research Council project, "Rising Powers and Conflict Management in Central Asia."