DUSHANBE, May 26, 2011, Asia-Plus — Two police officers are standing trial over the case over death of Dushanbe resident whose relatives say was beaten by police.
Sulaymon Qosimov, a judge with the court in Dushanbe’s Sino district, told Asia-Plus today that two officers from the Sino-1 police station in Dushanbe’s Sino district – Abdurahmon Yoqubov and Qodir Hasanov – are standing trial over the case of death of Safarali Sangov.
“They face charge of negligence,” the judge said. He refrained from giving further details of the case.
We will recall that at first Dushanbe prosecutor’s office reportedly instituted criminal proceedings against one of officers from the Sino-1 police station and according to the source at the Prosecutor-General’ Office, the criminal proceedings were instituted under the provisions of Article 316 (3) of Tajikistan’s Penal code – abuse of power or office, which entailed grave consequences.
Safarali Sangov died on March 5 in the National Medical Center in Dushanbe several days after he was beaten and taken from his house by plainclothes officers. His wife told Asia-Plus that on March 1, a group of men in civilian clothes, who were evidently from a police station in Dushanbe”s Sino district, entered their house, beat her husband, and took him away. She found him later in a coma in the resuscitation department of the National Medical Center.
Police say Sangov, who they suspected of drug pushing, tried to commit suicide by jumping out of the second-floor window during his interrogation at the police station. Interior Ministry spokesperson Mahmadullo Asadulloyev said the police officers suspected Sangov was in possession of drugs. He added that Sangov had been arrested previously for crimes in Russia and Tajikistan.
Sangov”s relatives acknowledged he was jailed in Russia in 1998 for five years for drug-related crimes. But they also say that when he returned home he went into business and opened a small supermarket. They said police were trying to extort a share of his profits.
