DUSHANBE, June 22, 2014, Asia-Plus – Tajik researcher Alexander Sodiqov, who was arrested in Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) by officers from the State Committee for National Security Committee (SCNS) on June 16, has reportedly been transported to a SCNS-run pretrial detention facility in Dushanbe.

The SCNS press center announced on June 20 that criminal proceedings have been instituted against Alexander Sodiqov and he was taken into custody on June 19 following ruling handed down by a court in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district.

Alexander Sodiqov reportedly has a lawyer and his family has been notified.  The preliminary investigation is under way, the SCNS press center said.

We will recall that Alexander Sodiqov, Tajik researcher contracted by the University of Exeter to help with a scholarly project, was detained in Khorog on June 16 on suspicion of spying for an unnamed country after he met with civil society activist Alim Sherzamonov.

Amnesty International, Freedom House, and Human Rights Watch have issued statements expressing concern over Sodiqov''s detention and urging Tajik authorities to provide detailed and timely information about his situation.