DUSHANBE, September 20, 2010, Asia-Plus — The State Committee for National Security (SCNS) denies report released by some media that the SCNS deputy chief was allegedly wounded in a skirmish between the government security forces and a group of jailbreak fugitives that occurred in Fayzobod district, some 50 kilometers east of Dushanbe, on the night of September 17-18, the SCNS press service reports.
“Two security officers sustained firearm wounds during the search operation for the escaped prisoners in Fayzobod,” said the source, “They are now in good health condition.”
We will recall that 25 convicts serving long jail terms escaped from the GKNB-run pretrial detention facility in the early hours of morning of August 23, killing five prison guards. Dressing in camouflage, the escapees reportedly fled toward eastern Tajikistan. The majority of the fugitives were among 46 people convicted by the Supreme Court on August 19 of terrorism, drug trafficking, and seeking the forcible overthrow of the government. The prisoners reportedly took advantage of the negligence of the jail warden.
To-date, seven of them have been recaptured and the 18 other escapees, among them three Russian citizens, four Afghans and two Uzbeks, are still at large.
