TAJIKISTAN: LEGAL ADVISOR TO TELL RABBI HE HAS NO LEGAL

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 000511 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PROP KIRF SOCI TI SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN: LEGAL ADVISOR TO TELL RABBI HE HAS NO LEGAL CASE; RABBI REMAINS IN DENIAL REF: A) DUSHANBE 0329 B) DUSHANBE 0394 ¶1. Rabbi Mikhail Abdurahmonov continues to hold out hope the government of Tajikistan will spare the Dushanbe synagogue and has sought legal advice from Dushanbe's Civil Society Support Center. When PolOff asked the Rabbi about the future of the synagogue, he refused to think about what concrete steps he should take to relocate the already half demolished synagogue. He frequently referenced conversations with government officials from 2004 and promises of land and assistance made then by officials and Jewish expatriates, promises that may have been well intended but were never put in writing. ¶2. Abdurahmonov told PolOff that with all the media attention on the synagogue's destruction, he hopes the government of Tajikistan will give the community a new plot of land and a building. He also continues to believe that Jews from abroad will be able to come up with a large sum of money or alternative solution to the synagogue's problems, even though they have not been able to do so for the past three years. ¶3. The Rabbi has engaged a lawyer from the Civil Society Support Center in Dushanbe, Abduzarif Mukhturov, for legal advice. Rabbi Abdurahmonov presented Mukhturov with all of the synagogue's legal documents in hopes that he would have a legal case to protect the synagogue. After reviewing the documents, Mukhturov told PolOff the synagogue has no legal case. He commented that it would be futile to attempt to fight the government in the court system on this issue. All documents show that the government owns the synagogue structure since it was nationalized in 1951. Mukhturov said the best possible outcome would be that the synagogue receives $300 in compensation. This amount is based on his estimates of government rates for past structural compensation, which is typically far from fair market value. ¶4. Mukhturov has not yet informed Rabbi Abdurahmonov of his legal opinion, but will meet with him in the next few days. He will explain that unless the Rabbi can find supporting documents, such as tax payments, that show the synagogue is private property and belongs to someone other than the government, they will have an extremely weak to hopeless case in court. He will try to convince the Rabbi that he needs to start thinking about the synagogue's future in another location, rather than protecting the current property. ¶5. COMMENT: Abdurahmonov was ill the day PolOff met with him and had refused earlier meetings with other international organizations. He still claims that the synagogue is 100 years old (it was built in 1947) and this is an infringement of religious freedom (it's a land dispute; two Muslim structures in the vicinity have also been torn down without compensation). He expects international organizations to sail in and help him, even as half of the building has already been demolished. His inability to constructively engage the government and move forward psychologically on the issue, even at this last hour, has hindered Dushanbe's Jewish community from any chance of getting higher compensation from the government. Even knowing that he has no legal case, the Rabbi will still probably attempt to prove that the synagogue is private property. The government, meanwhile, has already made the decision to convert the area into a park and will not relinquish, regardless of legal or international pressure. To protect the poor and disenfranchised Jews of Dushanbe, it is essential that Jewish expatriate communities step in and help their own. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND