After more than three decades working as a teacher at her local school in the southern city of Nurek, Nabotbegim Yusupova, the mother of Asliddin Yusupov and Jafar Yusupov, two of the five men Tajik authorities say carried out the deadly attack on foreign cyclists in Danghara district on July 29, looked forward to a peaceful retirement is now out of a job, ostracized by society, and heading to Russia in her mid-50s to start a new career as a labor migrant, according to Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service.
The Yusupov brothers and two of the others were killed in a police manhunt immediately after the attack, while the fifth, Hussein Abdusamadov, survived and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.
RFE/RL says the attack destroyed the lives of the families and relatives of the attackers. Some of them were immediately dismissed from jobs, some ended up behind bars, and others have become accustomed to frequent visits from the police.
Just days after the attack, the administration of School No. 5 in Nurek, where Yusupova has taught since 1986, confirmed to RFE/RL that she no longer worked there.
The school administration declined to comment further, but one teacher said under condition of anonymity that Yusupova was dismissed at the order of "higher authorities."
In an interview with local media, Yusupova said, "I worked hard for 32 years…and my children spoiled it all."
Days later, the Yusupov brothers' aunt, Mohbegim Yusupova, was dismissed as the head of a Nurek neighborhood committee, an unpaid but highly regarded government-backed position that involves working with local communities.
In Dushanbe, the mother of convicted ringleader Abdusamadov, Gulchehra Shodmonova, has become a regular fixture at pro-government rallies and media, denouncing opposition leaders, RFE/RL says.
Supporting the authorities' official line, Shodmonova blames the July attack on the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IPRT), and claims her son was brainwashed by the party.
Recall, the group of foreign tourists was run down by a vehicle as they bicycled on a highway in Danghara district, after which the assailants exited the vehicle and stabbed survivors before fleeing.
The attack, widely condemned by Tajik authorities and public, claimed the lives of four foreign tourists. Two of the dead, Austin Jay and Lauren Geoghegan, were from the United States. The other fatalities were Dutchman René Wokke and Hamel Markus from Switzerland. Another three cyclists were wounded.
Hussein Abdusamadov is the only surviving attacker, but he wasn't the only person to be convicted in connection with the terrorist attack against the foreign cyclists.
Fourteen others went on trial last month in connection with the attack. Two men were found guilty of providing support to the attackers, and were sentenced to 16 years in prison. Twelve others got up to 18 months in prison each for failing to notify authorities of a possible crime.
The only woman in the dock, Bahrinisso Haidarova, was given a one-year suspended sentence on account of her two-year-old child, according to Eurasianet.org.
RFE/RL’s Tajik Service says all of the 12 are believed to be relatives and acquaintances of the Yusupov brothers, and lived in Nurek and nearby areas.
