DUSAHNBE, April 6, Asia-Plus — 10 persons have already been questioned on the case of the
Dushanbe
orphanage “Chorbogh”.
Judge Safarali Kholmatov taking on the trial of this case has told Asia-Plus that parents and relatives of children have been summoned to the court as witnesses for the fire victims. According to him, the court is currently considering materials related to the orphanage conditions.
As it had been reported earlier, a court in the
Dushanbe
district of Ismoili Somoni started a trial of nine persons, including officials from the
Dushanbe
orphanage “Chorbogh” on March 29.
Lawyer Oktam Sultonov is representing the former director of the orphanage Sadullo Yatimov. The prosecution is represented by Jamshed Sangov, an official with the
Dushanbe
prosecutor’s office.
Nine persons face criminal charges; of them, three, including the orphanage director Sadullo Yatimov, are under arrest and the remaining six others have given written undertakings not to leave a place.
The orphanage director faces charges under six articles of
Tajikistan
’s Criminal Code, including negligent homicide, abuse of power, negligence, service forgery, embezzlement of state funds, and misappropriation of foreign aid.
We will recall that a blaze broke out at the “Chorbogh” orphanage for children with intellectual disabilities in
Dushanbe
early on January 8, killing at least 13 children and injuring at least two others. 77 children were rescued, with one survivor with second-degree burns hospitalized in a burn-treatment facility.
