DUSHANBE, April 10, 2015, Asia-Plus — Parents of border guard Mehrojiddin Shodiyev have applied to media sources asking to help release their son from Taliban captivity.
Mehorjiddin’s father, Fathullo Shodiyev, says he has visited all instances, beginning from the recruitment center military and ending with president’s office.
“Everywhere I hear one answer ‘be patient, we are doing all in our power’,” said Fathullo Shodiyev. “Four months have passed since they were captured but there is no any information and no work is being done on releasing our children.”
According to him, he knew that his son had been captured by Taliban militants only 40 days after the incident, when Mehrojiddin had got in touch with his parents by phone. “My son said they were captured when gathering firewood for their commander,” said Fathullo Shodiyev. He said, ‘20 Afghans surrounded us and took us to Afghanistan. Now one of mojaheds will talk to you.’ The Afghan said they do not want money. He said they will return our children if their confederates will be released from Tajik prisons.”
Fathullo Shodiyev says he even applied to the Afghan Embassy in Dushanbe but they said they do not have cannot release Tajik soldiers from the Taliban captivity.
We will recall that four Tajik border guards were taken hostage by an unidentified group in Afghanistan on December 19, 2014.
On January 8, the Khatlon prosecutor’s office made public the identities of the abducted four Tajik border guards. In its statement, the Khatlon prosecutor’s office confirmed earlier reports that four Tajiks had been abducted by Afghans in December. It said they were border guards Farhod Kalonov, 19, Siroj Davlatov, 23, Tuychiboy Nourboyev, 19, and Mehrojiddin Shodiyev, 20.
The commander of their military unit, Alimuhammad Dodokalonov, who was held responsible for the incident, was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison.
