German authorities have deported a Tajik opposition activist to Tajikistan, intensifying concerns that Germany is not upholding its human rights obligations when making deportation decisions, Human Rights Watch said today. On June 20, 2026, Germany deported Asadullo Boboev and his adult son, Muhammad, to Dushanbe, despite concerns he would be detained and could face mistreatment in detention. Boboev was detained on arrival.
Boboev is the fourth documented case of a Tajik opposition activist deported from Germany since 2023 who has been detained on arrival. The other three men were convicted on unsubstantiated charges and are serving lengthy prison terms.
"Germany is failing to uphold its international obligations to protect those in danger of mistreatment and serious violations of their rights if they are deported," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Boboev's criticism of the Tajik government made him a clear target, and Germany should investigate why he was deported under those circumstances and press Tajik authorities over his detention."
Boboev has posted his concerns on his social media and participated in the activities of the Reforms and Development of Tajikistan movement, a platform for exiled Tajik activists and migrants to unite in calling for political and economic reforms in their home country. Boboev and his family arrived in Germany in 2017 and applied for asylum in the same year. The claim was ultimately rejected.
Boboev's wife, Mastona Faizulloeva, told media that he was placed in pretrial detention immediately upon arrival in Dushanbe; his son was released to his grandmother. Faizulloeva and their two daughters were allowed to remain in Germany.
Based on court materials shared with Human Rights Watch, German authorities took Boboev, 54, and his son, 19, into immigration detention on June 8 in Kerken near Kleve in North Rhine-Westphalia on the basis of a long-pending deportation order. A court in Geldern had granted the district's request to hold both men in pre-removal detention until July 2, citing their expired residence status and repeated failure to leave voluntarily.
Sharofiddin Gadoev, head of Reforms and Development of Tajikistan, said the men's lawyer had submitted dozens of pages of evidence documenting the risk Boboev would face, but the court disregarded it.
Boboev previously told media that Tajik authorities had opened a criminal extremism case against him over social media posts criticizing President Emomali Rahmon's government. He said that the German court gave him until July 1 to prove that such a case exists and that he faces a real threat upon return. However, Tajik activists in exile may face real risk of persecution or serious rights violations if forcibly returned even without open criminal cases against them; many Tajiks who were imprisoned after deportation were never on any public list or had no pending criminal cases.
Boboev's case fits a pattern Human Rights Watch and Tajik civil society groups have repeatedly raised with German authorities. The other Tajik opposition activists deported since 2023-Abdullohi Shamsiddin, Bilol Qurbonaliev, and Dilmurod Ergashev-were sentenced to 7, 10, and 8 years in prison, respectively, on charges that appear to be fabricated. Shamsiddin has reportedly been mistreated in custody, and Ergashev was handcuffed and hooded by Tajik security officers immediately on arrival.
Another Tajik national, Saidazam Rahmonov, who had been living in central Germany since 2019 and was married to a German woman, died in a Tajik prison in October 2025 under suspicious circumstances after returning to collect documents for his German visa. His relatives say his body showed signs of beating and torture, while prison officials claimed he had committed suicide in his cell.
These cases show why German courts and immigration authorities cannot treat deportations to Tajikistan as routine, Human Rights Watch said. International law prohibits "refoulement"-returning anyone to a country where they face a real risk of torture-and this prohibition is explicitly included in several treaties Germany has ratified. Germany has previously suspended deportations to other countries known for transnational repression yet has continued returning Tajik nationals even as evidence mounts that this delivers government critics directly to the repressive security services they had in many cases fled.
The consequences extend beyond those deported. They have generated a widespread climate of fear within Tajikistan's diaspora in Europe, a powerful tool of transnational repression. Activists and community members self-censor and curtail their political activity, knowing that their presence in European countries like Germany offers no guarantee of safety.
Tajikistan has a track record of carrying out transnational repression in Germany: for instance, against activists who participated in the September 2023 protest in Berlin during President Rahmon's visit to Germany. Human Rights Watch has expressed concern that these deportations facilitate Tajikistan's transnational repression.
The German government has committed itself to countering transnational repression by authoritarian countries and has made progress in doing so, for example by creating a dedicated team in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But important gaps remain. In its effort to toughen its stance on migration, the current government announced an end to all voluntary reception programs shortly after taking office in 2025. This has closed important safe pathways and protection for dissidents seeking safety in Germany. People fleeing countries including Afghanistan, Russia, and Belarus are also affected.
"Handing a known government critic back to a country with a documented record of detaining returnees raises concerns that German authorities are essentially facilitating Tajikistan's transnational repression of its exiled critics." Williamson said. "Germany should live up to its commitment to tackle repression in all forms, including when it comes to Tajikistan."
