KHUJAND, January 6, 2015, Asia-Plus — Thirty-five residents of Sughd are suspected of taking part in foreign armed conflicts, Sughd chief prosecutor Sharif Qurbonzoda announced at a news conference in Khujand on January 6.
According to him, 17 criminal proceedings have been instituted against 35 residents of Sughd since an amendment to the country’s Penal Code stipulating punishment for Tajik nationals participating in foreign armed conflicts was approved in May last year.
He once again called on Tajik militants participating in foreign armed conflicts to give up fighting and return home. Qurbonzoda noted that all Tajik nationals fighting in the ranks of rebels in Syria will be amnestied if they return to Tajikistan.
“Nine of those who gave themselves up were amnestied,” the prosecutor noted.
We will recall that speaking to journalists in Khujand, Sharif Qurbonzoda on July 7, 2014 called on Tajik militants in Syria to give up fighting and return home. He said that unless the young men from Tajikistan committed serious crimes and were members of extremist organizations, they will all be amnestied and “assisted by the Tajik government to return to peaceful life in their homeland.”
Hundreds of men and women from Central Asian countries reportedly have been fighting in Syria against the government forces.
Tajik law enforcement agencies have given differing reports on the numbers of Tajik nationals fighting in Syria and Iraq. The State Committee for the National Security (SCNS) said in November 2014 that there are around 300 Tajik citizens fighting in Syria. However, the Tajik Interior Ministry said that around 200 Tajiks are fighting in Syria and that around 50 had been killed there.
Radio Liberty quoted Edward Lemon of the University of Exeter, who tracks Tajik fighters in Syria, as saying that he has found online evidence of 52 Tajik fighters in Syria.
