QURGHON TEPPA, October 26, 2011, Asia-Plus — A prosecutor in the trial of two pilots working for Rolkan Investments Limited asked the Khatlon regional court on October 24 to sentence the pilots to 13-yer prison term each and confiscate both aircraft.
The trial of Captain Vladimir Sadovnichiy (national of Russia) and Captain Aleksey Rudenko (national of Estonia), working for Rolkan Investments Limited, began in Qurghon Teppa, the capital of Khatlon province on October 12.
They are charged with violation of rules of international flights (Article 218 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code), smuggling (Article 289) and illegal border crossing (Article 335).
Meanwhile, the pilots maintain their innocence. Their defense lawyer Ghulom Boboyev noted that the prosecution had failed to produce evidences that would support charges brought against his clients. Boboyev asked the judge to acquit his clients and release them in a courtroom.
Captain Sadovnichiy told their trial they are not guilty of the charges against them and asked that they be released. According to him, the Tajik authorities investigated the incident in accordance with Tajikistan’s aviation code. “Tajik civil aviation authorities have found nothing illegal in our actions. After landing, Tajik customs authorities checked the aircraft and found nothing illegal on board. Aircraft engine and other things that were on the board are property of the company [Rolkan Investments Limited]. They were used for maintaining the aircraft themselves and they are not a commercial cargo.”
Mr. Justice Temour Boboyev, who is presiding over the trial, ordered the adjournment until October 31.
We will recall that in March this year, two transport aircraft An-72 belonging to Rolkan Investments Limited illegally crossed the national border of Tajikistan from Afghanistan without permission of Tajik air navigation service and landed at the Qurghon Teppa airport.
According to some sources, Rolkan Investments Limited, which is reportedly engaged in transporting humanitarian cargo to Afghanistan, is domiciled in the British Virgin Islands.
The State Committee for National Security (SCNS)’s office in Khatlon has assessed that crossing of border illegal and instituted criminal proceedings against Captain Sadovnichiy and Captain Rudenko.
Prosecutor Fayzullo Kholov noted that Sadovnichiy and Rudenko were allegedly working for Rolkan Investments Limited illegally. According to him, those two AN-72s worked in Afghanistan illegally from 2008 till detention because they are not registered in any state. “They were transporting a contraband aircraft engine,” the prosecutor said.
