“The air of freedom is sweet”: Tajik journalists speak about prison and life after release

Tajik journalists Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda and Zavqibek Saidamini, who spent more than four years in custody, were released from prison on the morning of July 18 under an amnesty law.
In brief interviews with Asia-Plus, they spoke about their first days of freedom, life behind bars, their health and plans for the future.
Both men were sentenced in 2022 to seven years in prison on charges related to cooperation with banned organizations. They denied the accusations at the time and said after their release that they still did not consider themselves guilty.
«Perhaps I will write a memoir»
Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda, 48, told Asia-Plus on the day of his release that he had been freed from Pre-Trial Detention Facility No. 1 in Dushanbe.
«I spent about a year and two months in the prison in Dushanbe. Thank God, this morning, July 18, we were released under the amnesty law. We are free now and have already met friends and loved ones,» he said.
Before being transferred to Dushanbe, Pirmuhammadzoda spent almost three years in a penal colony in Khujand, the capital of Sughd province. He said he had been moved «after one incident» but did not provide further details.
Asked about prison conditions and his treatment in custody, the journalist said he might tell the full story later.
«Perhaps in the future I will write a memoir. Maybe years from now people will be able to read it and learn what was really happening,» he said.
«All the hardships seem to have faded a little after I heard about the amnesty and was released. I feel much better now.»
​