DUSHANBE, August 30, 2014, Asia-Plus – Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports that police in Tajikistan have detained two Russian servicemen on suspicion of killing a taxi driver in the Central Asian nation.
Police told RFE/RL that the servicemen from Russia”s military base in Tajikistan were detained on August 26.
They are suspected of killing taxi driver Rahimjon Teshaboyev, 36, whose body was found near the capital, Dushanbe. He had reportedly been beaten and his throat slashed.
Authorities said a preliminary investigation indicated an argument over money might have prompted the killing, which could cause tension between Russians and Tajiks.
The Russian military base in Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan, is Moscow”s largest outside the country and consists of some 7,000 troops deployed at three different sites.
Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry identified the two suspects as deputy platoon commander Fyodor Basimov and former military unit commander Ildar Sakhapov.
