EU worried about closure of Tajik independent lawyers association
DUSHANBE. Nov 2 (Interfax) - The European Union Delegation to Tajikistan has called on Dushanbe to cancel its decision to annul the license of the Amparo Association of Young Lawyers.
The EU Delegation to Tajikistan said in a statement on Friday that it was seriously concerned over the Khujand City Court's ruling to shut down the Amparo Association of Young Lawyers.
Amparo, a public non-governmental organization, offered legal assistance to conscripts and Armed Forces servicemen free of charge. The association also campaigned against the Tajik authorities' widely used methods of detaining all young people seemingly of draft age at random. Most of these people were sent to military units, but it was established a few months later with the help of their parents and lawyers that they were not yet of draft age or were entitled to a deferment from military service.
Amparo lawyers also helped people subject to torture or mistreatment, as well as former suspects and convicts.