DUSHANBE, February 14, Asia-Plus -- Tajikistan’s Democratic Party has released statement, protesting a decision of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to deny his party’s application for official re-registration.

  The statement released on February 13, in particular, said that he ministry’s decision to deny the party’s application is unfounded.

According to Saidjaffar Ismonov, the new leader of the DPT, all documents necessary for re-registration of the party were submitted to the MoJ after a January 14 congress.  

“On February 5, Davlat Sulaimonov, the head of the MoJ department for registration of political parties and public associations told the first deputy DPT leader, Tavarali Ziyoyev, by phone that the documents are ready and we can come to take the registration certificate,” said Ismonov.   “However, we came next day to take the certificate Sulaimonov told us in the presence of the Radio Ozodi (Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service) and BBC journalists that the ministry had denied the application due to clauses contradicting the party statue.”

The party’s managing board studied the MoJ letter denying the party’s registration application and came to a conclusion that the rejection does not have any legal ground, according to the statement.   On February 7, the party sent a letter to Justice Minister Bakhtiyor Khudoyorov asking for clarifying the decision to deny the registration application.  

Ismonov claimed that the ministry had no any reason for denying his party’s application for registration.

“We hope that justice minister will give right legal assessment to this decision,” the statement said.  

Ismonov said in his interview with Asia-Plus that he will appeal to court if the issue is not resolved positively.