DUSHANBE, February 18, 2013, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan Supreme Court began consideration of criminal proceedings instituted against a judge and a prosecutor in the trial of 33 entrepreneurs from Isfara as well as a defense lawyer of one of convicts on February 18.
Rustam Olimov, who was a prosecutor in the trail of Tolib Jourayev and Fakhriddin Jourayev, Berdiqul Rasoulov, who was a defense lawyers of Tolib Jourayev, and Nour Nourov, who was a judge in the trail of 33 entrepreneurs from Isfara, are standing trial.
A source at the Supreme Court says the preliminary investigation has established that they entered into collusion for the purpose of getting a large-scale bribe.
According to him, the trial is being held at pretrial detention facility # 1 in Dushanbe behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, investigation into the case of Nizomkhon Jourayev is going on. Ms. Fayzinisso Vohidova, the defense lawyer of Nizomkhon Jourayev, says the investigation has been extended until April 7, 2013.
We will recall that Nizomkhon Jourayev had been wanted by Tajik police since 2007. He was a successful businessman who owned the chemical plant in the northern city of Isfara. In 2007 investigations were launched into his financial activities, and later in 2008 he was officially accused of ordering assassination of former Deputy Prosecutor-General Tolib Boboyev in 1999.
Criminal proceedings have been instituted against Nizomkhon Jourayev under the provisions of eight articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 104 – murder; Article 185 – organization of illegal armed formation; Article 186 – banditry; Article 195 – illegal storage of weapons; Article 245 – embezzlement or misappropriation; Article 262 – money laundering; Article 292 – tax evasion; and Article 340 – document forgery. Nizomkhon Jourayev left the country before his arrest warrant was issued.
On June 9, 2009, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan sentenced 31 associates of Nizomkhon Jourayev to long jail terms. They were sentenced to prison terms between 11 and 25 years, while a prosecutor in the trial of them asked for shorter terms for them.
According to Tajik law enforcement authorities, Nizomkhon Jourayev and his two brothers, Fakhriddin and Tolib, were involved in organizing the assassination of former Deputy Prosecutor-General Tolib Boboyev in 1999.
Jourayev and his associates were also charged with setting up an organized criminal group, tax evasion, and a number of financial crimes.
Moscow police detained Nizomkhon Jourayev on August 27, 2010 after three years of evading arrest.
Investigation into the so-called Isfara Case has been resumed after return of Nizomkhon Jourayev from Moscow. Earlier last year, he resurfaced in Tajikistan under unexplained circumstances and told state media that he had come back to face justice at home.
The chief detective of the anticorruption agency Saidakhtam Mudinov, who had previously served with the Ministry of Interior and been member of the operational group investigating the criminal case of Nizomkhon Jourayev, was arrested in June last year on suspicion of having misused powers. The preliminary investigation reportedly established that Lieutenant-Colonel Mudinov illegally took possession of Nissan Maxima belonging to Nizomkhon Jourayev.
A number of law enforcement officials, including Shermat Nourov, ex-deputy transportation prosecutor of Tajikistan, and Nour Nourov, judge from the Supreme Court, were also detained after investigation into the Isfara Case was resumed.
Criminal proceedings have also been instituted against Ochil Ochilov, the head of the investigation department at the anticorruption agency’s office for Sughd. But he left the country for the Russian Federation before his arrest warrant was issued.
Nizomkhon Jourayev now faces charges of only economic crimes.
