On August 5, a criminal court in Vienna officially denied a request from the Tajik government to extradite Shavkat Muhammad, his 77-year-old mother, Sharofat Sharifova, and his brother, Bilolidin Sharifov. The three individuals are members of the National Alliance of Tajikistan, a group currently banned by Dushanbe. While Tajik authorities have accused the family of extremism, the individuals maintain that the prosecution against them is politically motivated. Although no formal written ruling has been published, reports of the hearing were provided by opposition members who were present.
This decision marks the fourth time an Austrian court has rejected a request from a single submission by the Tajik government. In April, the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan provided files to the Austrian Justice Ministry regarding 18 members of exiled opposition organizations. By June 24, a Vienna court had already addressed the case of Firdavs Shukurov, a member of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). The evidence cited by Dushanbe against Shukurov included his participation in an authorized protest in Vienna in October 2021, where he held an anti-Rahmon banner, an event partially captured on video. Despite the request, the court did not authorize his return, noting his existing refugee status. Five days later, the same court blocked the deportation of a 49-year-old woman sought by Tajikistan since 2018 for allegedly calling for changes to the constitutional order.
Austria’s historical approach to these requests has varied, often depending on whether the matter is treated as a formal extradition or a migration violation. In March 2020, Austria deported Hizbullo Shovalizoda after his asylum claim was rejected. Upon his arrival in Dushanbe, he was arrested and later sentenced to 20 years for treason and participation in an extremist group in a closed trial. An Austrian court eventually invalidated that removal, ruling that the asylum decision had relied on outdated information regarding conditions in Tajikistan, and ordered his return to Austria. Shovalizoda remains incarcerated.
Across Europe, the distinction between extradition requests and migration-related deportations remains significant. In Germany, authorities deported 54-year-old Asadullo Boboev and his 19-year-old son to Dushanbe on June 20. Their detention was authorized by a court in Geldern due to expired residence status and a failure to leave voluntarily. Despite legal efforts by his lawyer to document the risks of return, the court proceeded with the deportation. Human Rights Watch reports that Boboev is the fourth Tajik opposition activist deported by Germany since 2023 who was subsequently detained upon arrival. Similar cases have occurred in Poland, which deported Farrukh Ikromov in April 2024, and Sweden, which returned Farhod Negmatov and his three daughters in December 2024.
The scale of these requests is notably high for a nation of 10 million people. Leaked Interpol records from September 2024 suggested that Tajikistan held the third-highest number of red notices in circulation globally. The Tajik Interior Ministry stated in July that 4,225 citizens are currently on the Interpol wanted list, with 403 added since January. Freedom House has identified Tajikistan as one of the world's most frequent perpetrators of transnational repression, noting that accusations of terrorism or extremism appear in over 46 percent of documented cases globally since 2014. While extradition requests require Dushanbe to present its case before a judge, removal proceedings place the burden on the individual to prove the risk of torture, a process that has led to different outcomes across the continent.
