DUSHANBE, May 22, Asia-Plus — Two Tajik teenagers are still being held by Uzbek special services, Davlat Nazriyev, a spokesman for the Tajik MFA, told Asia-Plus today. .
According to him, only four Tajik teenagers retuned home on May 15, “and two others are still being held by Uzbek special services because they do not have ID papers with them,” said the spokesman. “As soon as their ID papers are presented to the Uzbek special services, they will be released.”
We will recall that 31 school students from the Tajik northern town of Adrasmon decided to organize a picnic on April 27 and inadvertently crossed over into Uzbekistan, where they were detained by Uzbek border guards for illegally crossing the border. After short questioning, 25 school students were released, while six other teenagers were held by Uzbek special services.
In early May, parents of the detained school students released an open letter to Uzbek President Islam Karimov, asking for help in releasing their children. The letter, in particular, said that officers from the Uzbek special services allegedly accused their children of being involved in drug trafficking and espionage.
Four of teenagers were released on May 15 as a result of negotiations between representatives of Tajik and Uzbek border services.
