DUSHANBE, November 9, 2011, Asia-Plus – The Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the verdict passed on Russian-hired pilots in Tajikistan by saying it was too harsh and “politically charged,” and warned it could harm Russian-Tajik relations.
Russia’s media outlet report that Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Tuesday that it is held in Russia that the sentence passed on Russian-hired pilots in Tajikistan is too harsh and politically motivated.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich slammed the sentences as politically motivated and said they could negatively affect Moscow”s relations with Dushanbe. He said Tajik authorities did not provide any convincing evidence of the men”s guilt, Itar-Tass reports.
According to Itar-Tass, sources in the Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that the pilots flew planes of the Rolkan Investments Limited that, under the contract with the American Supreme Food firm, carried non-military cargos for coalition forces in Afghanistan.
“Tajikistan is blatantly violating existing international norms,” said Lukashevich. “It is also unclear what its plans are with regard to the seized airplanes. This verdict does not help strengthen our existing relationship as allied strategic partners, in fact it is damaging it seriously.”
We will recall that the Qurghon Teppa city court sentenced Captain Vladimir Sadovnichiy (Russian national) and Captain Aleksey Rudenko (national of Estonia) to 10½ years in prison each on November 8. The sentence followed their conviction on charges of violation of international air carriage regulations, smuggling and illegal border crossing.
But the two men will spend only 8 1/2 years in jail due to the terms of a recent general amnesty.
The court also ruled that they will serve their terms in a high-security penal colony. Both aircraft and the contraband aircraft engine were confiscated.
