DUSHANBE, August 23, 2010, Asia-Plus — Mirzokhouja Ahmadov, who was once chief of the regional state body empowered to combat organized crime in Rasht Valley says that it cannot be ruled out that people dissatisfied with actions of official authorities may gather around prisoners that escaped from the pretrial detention facility in Dushanbe overnight.
Asked whether the escapees will be able to destabilize the situation in the east of the country, Mr. Ahmadov said, “Only Allah knows.”
We will recall that according to some sources, the escapees went to Rasht Valley (eastern Tajikistan) and they reportedly fired at police posts in Fayzobod and Nourobod districts, wounding several policemen.
Ahmadov added that the situation in Rasht Valley was now stable and residents of the region stuck to their last. “Local residents do not want peace and stability in the region to be disturbed,” Ahmadov said.
Mirzokhouja Ahmadov was a member of the United Tajik Opposition during the country”s civil war in the mid-1990s but was later appointed to a senior police post as part of a broader attempt at reintegrating former rebels. He was fired in February 2008 after the commander of the special police unit, Oleg Zakharchenko, was killed in the shoot-out in Rasht district on February 2, 2008.
