Rahmatullo Zoyirov, head of Tajikistan\'s Social Democratic Party, told a news conference in Dushanbe on 14 March that Tajik police have arrested two party members in Soghd Province, RFE/RL\'s Tajik Service reported. In a statement published the same day by Avesta, Zoyirov said that Nizomuddin Begmatov, a candidate in the 27 February parliamentary elections, and Nasimjon Shukurov, Begmatov\'s representative, were arrested on 12 March and charged the next day with defamation and hooliganism. Likening the event to the Stalinist repressions of 1937, Zoyirov said that the party members were targeted on trumped-up charges for attempting to stand up for their rights and the rights of others. He demanded that the authorities free the two men, drop the charges against them, and file criminal charges against the local authorities who harassed them. The Social Democratic Party, which did not win a single seat in recent parliamentary elections, has alleged fraud, joining three other parties in a complaint to the Central Election Commission and a demand for new elections in Dushanbe. At the 14 March news conference, Zoyirov said that his party will ask for permission to stage a protest if the complaints \"are not dealt with in accordance with the law,\" Avesta reported. (RFE/RL)