DUSHANBE, April 9, Asia-Plus – On Tuesday April 8, The Tajik Prosecutor-General’s Office yesterday announced formal charges against two Tajik nationals — Masrurjon Yatimov, 24, and Najmiddin Muhiddinov, 20, – who are suspected of killing of the Russian TV reporter, Ilyas Shurpayev.
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, the first Deputy Prosecutor General, Abdusami Dadoboyev, said that they had been charged under the provisions of two articles of the Penal Code of Tajikistan – Article 104, Part 2 (murder) and Article 249 (robbery).
Shurpayev, a reporter from Russia”s volatile North Caucasus republic of Daghestan who worked for Russia”s state-run Channel One TV station, was found stabbed and strangled in his rented Moscow apartment on March 21.
The Tajik Interior Ministry has rejected suggestions that Shurpayev”s murder was related to his professional activities, saying instead that it was the result of a simple robbery gone wrong.
Masrurjon Yatimov and Najmiddin Muhiddinov said they had not planned to kill Shurpayev, but they were forced to kill him when the Russian journalist resisted the robbers. The men learnt that Shurpayev had recently received a large sum of money from Daghestan and decided to rob the reporter.
A third man, Muhiddinov”s brother, was also arrested by Tajik authorities. Although he did not participate in the murder, he is believed to have known about it and may now be charged with failure to report a serious crime.
