VZCZCXRO2579
PP RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #0511 0761049
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171049Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6991
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1453
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1489
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1477
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1434
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 1379
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1441
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1403
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1331
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1248
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1030
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1473
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 1524
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS 0822
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 8132

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