Over the past five years (2019-2023), only 28 acquittals have been handed down in the courts of Tajikistan in criminal cases, with 24 being fully acquitted and 4 being partially acquitted.
Let's take a look at the number of acquittals by year:
A small number of acquittals in criminal cases in the practice of judicial authorities is a common topic for discussion in expert circles in most post-Soviet countries.
Lawyer Navruz Odinayev previously commented on why there are so few acquittals in Tajikistan. He pointed out that in judicial practice, there is not always a detailed analysis of the evidence. Sometimes courts limit themselves to reproducing formulations from the text of the indictment or referring to the testimony of witnesses without conducting adequate analysis.
According to him, "it would be fundamentally wrong to assume that all cases in our courts come after a comprehensive investigation, and the accusations are proven one hundred percent."
Odinayev emphasized that even in developed legal systems such as France, England, or Germany, errors in the investigation of criminal cases occur. Therefore, a large number of acquittals (which is not the case in Tajikistan) should not cause concern for judicial and law enforcement agencies, as it is a normal phenomenon for any legal state, according to the expert.
The lawyer noted that in Tajikistan, lawyers do not have a significant influence on the investigation of cases and do not enjoy high authority in the judicial system. While in many countries, it is during the courtroom confrontation that the judge decides on the guilt of the accused.
In his opinion, the criteria for assessing judicial activities should be the legality and substantiation of judicial decisions, as well as their accessibility and transparency. He expressed the view that percentage indicators without real justification should not be the main criterion for evaluating the judicial system.
What do you think, why are suspects in criminal cases rarely acquitted in Tajikistan?
