DUSHANBE, May 18, 2016, Asia-Plus – A Tajik jihadist who recruited his countrymen to ISIS has got a long jail term.
A court in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district has sentenced a 28-year-old resident of the Paj jamoat Ehsonali Dodarbekov to six years in prison.
The sentence reportedly followed his conviction on charges of criminal attempt (Article 32 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code) and mercenariness (Article 401 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code). Ehsonali Dodarbekov will serve his term in a high-security penal colony.
Ehsonali Dodarbekov reportedly confessed his guilt. He reportedly played a considerable role in persuading and facilitating others to join Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
According to the court’s website, Ehsonali Dodarbekov was recruiting young men and sending them to Istanbul (Turkey) via Moscow and Chisinau (Moldova).
Ehsonali Dodarbekov reportedly left for Syria last year after becoming radicalized in Russia.
We will recall that another Tajik jihadist who recruited dozens of his countrymen to ISIS is reported to have been killed in Syria.
A 26-year-old resident of the Tajik city of Norak, Anushervon Azimov, who used the nom de guerre Anas, was killed in Syria last month. He reportedly managed to recruit more than 100 Tajik nationals to ISIS.
According to official data, some 1 million Tajik nationals are in Russia for seasonal work. The Tajik authorities and experts say labor migrants are vulnerable for recruitment by terrorists.
Tajik authorities say up to 1,000 nationals have joined ISIS militants in Syria and Iraq, doubling the figure that officials previously provided. The majority of them have reportedly been recruited in Russia.
Tajik authorities promise amnesty to Tajik militants in Syria and Iraq who wish to come home. According to official data, 60 Tajik nationals have returned from Syria so far, and all of them have been granted amnesty.
Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service
, locally known as
Ozodi
, reported on April 4 that the source, who spoke to it on condition of anonymity, said 300 Tajiks had been killed in Syria and Iraq and only around 200 remained. The source added that more than 20 parents of individuals who went to Syria had asked for help returning their children, who are on the Turkish border.
It is not possible to independently verify these figures,
Ozodi
said, noting that ISIS does not publish casualty figures for its militants, making it impossible to know how many fighters of each nationality have died. But there have been signs of an increased casualty rate among ISIS militants over the past months, including of Russian-speaking and Central Asian fighters in ISIS”s offensive at Baiji in Iraq, Ozodi reported.
