Week in Review: Secracy, Sanctions, Voting, and More

Orda has put together a brief synopsis of news from the past week.
For Our Eyes Only
This past Tuesday, reports emerged that Tajikistan's Prosecutor General extended the investigation period of the criminal case "on an attempted coup d'etat."
The case involves Saidjafar Usmonzoda, a former member of parliament and former chair of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan, Shokirjon Khakimov, first deputy chair of the Social Democratic Party, Akhmadshhoh Komilzoda, first deputy chair of the Democratic Party, Akbarsho Iskandarov, former chair of the Supreme Council of the country, and Hamrokhon Zarifi, former minister of foreign affairs.
As the case against them has been deemed classified, little is known aside from information provided by Tajik law enforcement and official sources. The arrests began in July of this year.
Not long before, another case in Tajikistan was sealed up. Akhmad Ibrohim, the founder and editor-in-chief of Paik, the only independent media in Tajikistan's Khatlon region, has been in custody since August 12, 2024, on bribery charges. Radio Ozodi later learned that two other charges — "extremism" and "extortion" — had also been tagged on.
Allegedly, Ibrohim demanded money from several officials, and his work contains signs of "extremism." Yet, friends and colleagues see the charges as retaliation for critical articles.
Pressure, Interference, and Unseen Forces
Soltan Achilova, a Turkmen journalist, would also claim to be under pressure. Reaching out to Turkmenistan's president, she stated that at the end of September, unknown persons damaged her disabled son's car. Despite having video evidence, the police were unable to find the suspects. Achilova believes that the Turkmen security forces organized the attack.
At the beginning of the week, Kloop.kg released an investigation exposing two Russian political strategists' potential operations with Sadyr Japarov's presidential campaign. The investigation revealed possible ties between the two men and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the former head of the Wagner mercenary group. This is not the first report of such involvement.
Similarly, on October 20, 2024, claims of Russian-backed interference surfaced after Moldova's presidential elections and EU referendum results. While President Maia Sandu had a more than convincing victory, she failed to secure 50% of the votes, necessitating a run-off against former prosecutor-general Alexandr Stoianoglo, backed by the pro-Russian party.
Conversely, the EU referendum results just barely tilted in favor of EU succession despite pre-voting surveys indicating otherwise. Local law enforcement has accused pro-Russian fugitive businessman Ilan Shor of dishing out $39 million to voters in September and October. Russia has denied involvement.
Disruption, Controversy, Violence, and Disinformation
Notable incidents preceded Georgia's crucial October parliamentary elections as well. Law enforcement conducted searches at the homes of Atlantic Council employees. Sopo Gelava and Eto Buziashvili, research associates with the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab and leading local experts on Russian disinformation and malign operations, were their subjects. Levon Gokichaishvili, a leader of the Georgian opposition party "For Georgia," was also reportedly attacked in the Tbilisi metro.
Violence was also present during the actual voting, and Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili claimed to have been unable to contact the interior minister or his deputy over the violence at polling stations. The government line at the presidential residence was purportedly disconnected.
The ruling party, Georgian Dream, secured 54,234% of the votes as of 10 a.m. on October 27, 2024. However, claims of a rigged election process and opposition parties rejecting the results and declaring protests have put the elections' validity into question. Amid cries of a farce, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the government would be approved.
Sanctions, NATO Aspirations, and Regional Dynamics Across Europe and Central Asia
Meanwhile, talks about expanding sanctions against Moscow could resume in January when Poland replaces Hungary as the EU bloc's president, as Russia's share in the European LNG market grew to 20%. Previous hurdles still remain for the bloc to implement fresh sanctions, though the US has also announced readiness to bolster them.
Against this backdrop, Türkye, heading a warning from Washington, curbed the export of sanctioned goods to Russia. FATFA, on the other hand, again did not add Russia to its list of countries with weak money laundering compliance.
At the same time, Washington and Berlin have demonstrated hesitance to Kyiv's call for an immediate invitation to NATO, which is part of Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy's victory plan. Zelenskyy himself has admitted that the war against Ukraine must end before NATO membership.
The EU parliament also honed in on Baku. While the two leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan were seen conversing at the BRICS summit, Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis rebuked and rejected the EU's critical position stipulated in a resolution as "biased and one-sided."
European Parliament members adopted a resolution urging Azerbaijan to release Armenian prisoners and ensure the right of Armenians to return to Nagorno-Karabakh. They included condemnations of the repression against the opposition, journalists, and activists, which has significantly intensified in the run-up to COP29.
Seemingly responding to the above sanction announcements, Kazakhstan has made it loud and clear that it has neither joined the sanctions nor will it allow its territory to be a conduit for circumvention.
Simultaneously, its military continues to strengthen ties with Ankara. Turkish and Kazakh representatives held negotiations on production facilities for tactical unmanned aerial systems and loitering munitions in Kazakhstan.
Bringing Afghanistan in The Loop
Kazakhstan also hosted Afghan business representatives this past week. At the event, Serik Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan's deputy prime minister, said his nation is interested in investing in the Afghan mining industry.
Listing Kazakhstani companies as potential investors, Zhumangarin stated that they have modern technologies for the extraction of solid minerals. ToloNews, an Afghan media outlet, reported that Afghanistan is set to ratchet up oil extraction thanks to 25 new oil wells in the Amu Darya.
Still, the report corroborated the need for modern machinery to process natural resources and cooperation with other countries to import processing equipment. Coincidentally, Uzbekistan Eriell KAM, an oilfield services group, signed a contract to explore and produce natural gas in the Tuti Maidan block in Afghanistan's northern Jowzjan and Faryab provinces.
Elections And Elite Infighting
In other news concerning Uzbekistan, previous claims of elite infighting received what seemed like a confirmation on October 26. Not as one would expect, though.
An attack occurred at around 1:30 a.m. near the house of Komil Allamjonov in the Kibray district. Allamjonov is the former head of the Uzbek presidential administration's information policy department. Two unknown persons opened fire at the car he was in and fled the scene. Allamjonov was not injured, a criminal case followed, and one suspect has already been apprehended.
Weeks before the attack, an Ozodlik source in the Uzbek government said there was a "conflict" between Komil Allamjonov, Otabek Umarov, and the State Security Service. Allamjonov is a close associate of Saida Mirziyoyeva, the Uzbek president's daughter. Nothing other than assumptions can be made, however.
A day later, Uzbekistan held elections for local representative bodies and a bicameral parliament with no visible opposition.
The article has been corrected to omit a misleading sentence. The article "the" was unintentionally omitted. Komil Allamjonov's former position made him the "third person in the presidential administration," according to Ozodlik.
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