DUSHANBE, August 11, 2014, Asia-Plus — The Supreme Court has reportedly completed consideration of criminal proceedings institute against seven men suspected of planning the attack at the Tajik aluminum smelter and the sentence is expected to be announced tomorrow.
Tajik law enforcement authorities completed an investigation into an alleged plan to commit a terrorist act on Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO), the largest aluminum plant in Central Asia, on July 21 and the case moved to the Supreme Court of Tajikistan.
Seven residents of the western city of Tursunzoda – Tolib Shodiyev, Ahmatjon Majidov, Azamat Abdulloyev, Touraboy Ravshanov, Abdullojon Rahimov, Askarali Bouriyev, and Umar Urmanov – are standing trial for the terrorist attack on the Tajik aluminum smelter, which is located in Tursunzoda.
Abdurahmon Sharipov, the defense lawyer for one of defendants, says the defendants do not know each other.
According to him, Farrukh Zuhuriddinov, who is a prosecutor in the trail, asked the Supreme Court to sentence to the defendants to jail terms between 11 and 25 years.
Meanwhile, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported last month that an employee of the Tajik aluminum smelter, who asked to remain anonymous, told it that four of the suspects were TALCO employees.
We will recall that Interior Ministry spokesman Jaloliddin Sadriddinov told journalists in Dushanbe on April 9 that a criminal group that planned a large explosion at the Tajik aluminum plant was detained in late March with explosives in their possession.
TALCO is one of the ten largest aluminum smelters in the world and provides up to 70% of the country’s foreign currency earnings, consuming 40% of the country’s electrical power. TALCO is wholly owned by the Tajik government. Tajikistan does not mine alumina but imports the raw material through tolling arrangements.
Construction of the Tajik aluminum plant (TadAZ) began in 1972, and the first pouring of aluminum took place on March 31, 1975. On April 3, 2007, TadAZ was officially renamed to TALCO – Tajik Aluminum Company.
