DUSHANBE, March 3, 2014, Asia-Plus -- The Social-Democratic Party (SDP)’s head office in Dushanbe has reportedly been attacked again, this time by men.

According to the SDP deputy head Shokirjon Hakimov, some ten men burst into the party’s office in Dushanbe last Saturday accusing the party leaders and activists of seeking to destabilize the country.

“There were some 20 people, including the party leader Rahmatillo Zoyirov, in the office.  We gathered to celebrate a birthday of one of our activists, when some ten men burst into the office and began to accuse us of seeking to repeat the events of 1992 in the country and turn Tajikistan into Ukraine,” Hakimov said.

“Some 10-15 minutes later, police officers came to the office, though nobody called them, and took those men with them.  We later knew that the men were released at once,” said SDP deputy leader.  “In this connection we are going to apply to the chief of the police station in Dushanbe’s Sino district.”

We will recall that some two dozen female protesters in early December noisily disrupted a press conference of the Social-Democratic Party (SDP) to criticize its leader Rahmatillo Zoyirov and heap praise on President Emomali Rahmon.

The women even accused the party of being involved in the July 2012 bloody clashes in Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), which followed the fatal stabbing of a top security official there.  The women demanded Zoyirov "let Rahmon work as he was elected by a majority of Tajikistan''s citizens."  They told reporters not to listen to Zoyirov''s "nonsense" and said he isn''t "content with peace" in Tajikistan.

SDP representatives that time accused the authorities of using “rent-a-crowd” women to put pressure on government opponents.

Founded in 2002, the Social-Democratic Party was registered on December 20, 2002.  It was originally registered as the Party of Justice and Development in 1999.  Tajikistan''s Ministry of Justice requested the same year that the Supreme Court ban the party''s activities and its registration was canceled.  The party re-emerged and was registered under the name of the Social-Democratic Party in late 2002.  The party was renamed the National Social-Democratic Party on December 4, 2011.

Chairman of the Nationals Social-Democratic Party is Rahmatillo Zoyirov and the party reportedly has 7,700 members.