Tolib Ayombekov

Lieutenant Colonel
Tolib Ayombekov
Lieutenant Colonel Tolib Ayombekov
Толиб Аёмбеков
Born	July 6, 1966 (age 58); Khorog, Shugnan District, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union
Other names	Tolibbek Ayyombekov
Political party	United Tajik Opposition (1993–1997)

Tolibbek Ayyombekov (Tajiki: Толиббек Айёмбеков, Perso-Arabic script: طالب‌بیک ایام‌بیک‌اف; born 6 July 1966 in Khorog), commonly known as Tolib Ayombekov (Tajiki: Толиб Аёмбеков, Perso-Arabic script: طالب ایام‌بیک‌اف), is an Ismaili Shia Pamiri jailed ex-opposition fighter from Tajikistan, who was involved in the Gorno-Badakhshan clashes in 2012 against the government forces of ruling Tajik president Emomali Rahmon.^[1] Until his arrest in June 2022, he was particularly influential in his home Khlebzavod microraion of Khorog.^[2]

Ayombekov is the brother of former prominent Tajik opposition commander Abdulamon Ayombekov,^[3] and was an opposition fighter during the 1992 to 1997 Tajik Civil War between the United Tajik Opposition and the government led by President Rahmon Nabiyev. Following his brother Abdulamon's assassination in 1994, he became the de facto leader of all opposition militias in Gorno-Badakhshan.^[4] As part of the subsequent 1997 peace deal between the opposing sides, Ayombekov was first appointed commander of police battalion in Khorog and later, in 2008, made head of the Ishkashim border detachment, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel.^[3] However, Ayombekov and many other Tajik informal leaders were gradually driven out of power. Emomali Rahmon's government has also accused Ayombekov of tobacco smuggling.

After Major-General Abdullo Nazarov, the head of the Tajik intelligence agency "GKNB" in the local semi-autonomous province of Gorno-Badakhshan, was dragged out of his car,^[5]^[6] and was fatally stabbed in an incident in Ishkoshim,^[7]^[8] heavy fighting erupted on 24 July 2012 between government forces and militants loyal to Ayombekov in the streets of Khorog.^[7] The Western media described the fighting as the worst in Tajikistan since 2010^[9]^[10] or the 1992–1997 civil war.^[11] Ayombekov denied any responsibility for Nazarov's death.^[9]^[10] The clashes ended when, on request of Ismaili Imam Karim Agha Khan, he surrendered himself to the Tajik government, in exchange for their withdrawal from Khorog.^[12]

In the aftermath of the clashes, Tolib Ayombekov, together with other informal leaders including Muhammadboqir Muhammadboqirov and Yodgorshoh Muhammadaslamov, was entered into ICPO-INTERPOL's database of wanted persons, at the request of the Tajik government.^[13] He remained in it until January 2013.^[14]

In 2018, following the onsent tensions in Badakhshan, all 7 informal leaders of Badakhshan, including Ayombekov, signed a protocol with the government, agreeing not to interfere in the activities of government agencies. In exchange for their agreement, all legal cases against them were dropped, and they were no longer officially referred to as criminals. Additionally, the government ceased demanding that they turn over all weapons in their possession. Following the signing of the protocol, the informal leaders were invited to meet Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe. Ayombekov was among those that agreed to the invitation and arrived in Dushanbe.^[3]

On 11 June 2022, following the killing of Tajik opposition figures Muhammadboqir Muhammadboqirov, Khursand Mazorov, and Zoir Rajabov, he was detained by Tajik security forces in Khorog, alongside Munavvar Shanbiev and Niyozshoh Gulobov.^[15] On 23 November 2022, he and the other co-defendants were given a life sentence.^[16] All 3 of his sons, as well as his 2 brothers, were arrested thereafter.^[17]

References

^ "ОГОҲОНИДАНИ саркардагони гурӯҳҳои муташаккили ҷиноятии шаҳри Хоруғ ва ноҳияҳои Шуғнону Роштқалъа" (PDF). Boju Khiroj. No. 1142. Dushanbe: State Tax Committee of Tajikistan. 8 November 2018. p. 13. 1. Насаб, ном ва номи падар: Аёмбеков Толибек Абдураҳмонович; 2. Санаи таваллуд: 06 июли соли 1966; 3. Ҷои таваллуд: шаҳри Хоруғ.
^ "В Таджикистане пятерых неформальных лидеров ГБАО приговорили к пожизненному заключению". Ferghana Information Agency (in Russian). 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
^ ^a ^b ^c Nazarov, Shavqat (2018-10-31). "Семь самураев: Рахмону удалось подтвердить свою власть над Памиром" [Seven Samurai: Rahmon managed to confirm his power over the Pamirs]. Ferghana Information Agency (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-05-19.
^ Sodiqov, Alexander (5 September 2012). "Explaining the Conflict in Eastern Tajikistan". Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst. Retrieved 2023-10-09. At the onset of the war, the Pamiris forged an alliance with the Islamic and Democratic forces, collectively known as the United Tajik Opposition (UTO), which fought against the ex-communist apparatchiks supported by powerful militias from the Kulyab region. As the latter gained control of the country's southern regions and the capital, Pamiri militias retreated to GBAO where high mountains and narrow valleys provided them with a secure defensive barrier. From early 1993 onwards, the commanders of these militias became the dominant political force in the region. They enjoyed broad popular support and came to be regarded as "heroes" because they defended the region from outsiders and used the profits made from the smuggling of gemstones and drugs to supply the local people with imported foodstuffs, thus saving them from starvation. Ayombekov became a de facto leader of these militias after his prominent brother, Abdulamon (aka "Hunchback Alyosh"), was assassinated in 1994. The other three strongmen targeted by the government also achieved prominence during the civil war.
^ "Deadly fighting erupts in Tajikistan". Al Jazeera. 25 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
^ Roman Kozhevnikov (24 July 2012). "Tajik troops strike ex-warlord after general killed". Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Tajikistan clashes: 'Many dead' in Gorno-Badakhshan". BBC News. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
^ "Tajik Officials: About 40 Dead in Fighting Between Troops, Militants". Voice of America. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Tajikistan soldiers killed in operation against former warlord". The Guardian. Associated Press. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
^ ^a ^b Olga Tutubalina (24 July 2012). "Tajikistan Army Clashes With Rebels; Dozens Killed". ABC News. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
^ "Tajikistan: Will Ceasefire End Deadly Conflict in Gorno-Badakhshan?". Eurasianet. 25 July 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
^ Aioubov, Salimjon (2012-09-19). "Surrendered Tajik Opposition Commander: 'We Don't Want To Fight. We Want Peace.'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
^ Tursunzoda, Mehrangez (2012-11-03). "Informal leaders of Gorno Badakhshan wanted via Interpol". Asia-Plus. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
^ Tursunzoda, Mehrangez (2013-01-17). "Из базы Интерпола исключены четверо неформальных лидеров ГБАО" [Four informal leaders of GBAO removed from Interpol database]. Asia-Plus (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-05-25.
^ "В Хороге задержаны Толиб Аёмбеков, Мунаввар Шанбиев и Ниёзшо Гулобов. Власти называют их "лидерами ОПГ"". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (in Russian). 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
^ Aioubov, Salimjon (2022-11-25). "Tajikistan Hands Down Five Life Sentences Amid Badakhshan Clampdown". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
^ "Tajik Authorities Detain Another Brother Of Jailed Informal Leader Of Restive Gorno-Badakhshan Region". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2023-05-26.