QURGHON TEPPA, October 8, 2014, Asia-Plus — Two servicemen of a border unit, deployed in the southern Khatlon province, have got a jail term of two years each for severely beating a soldier during a hazing incident.
A military court in Khatlon province sentenced two servicemen of border unit 2931 deployed in the Shouroobod district – Sayod Ismoilov and Ramazon Safarov – to two years in prison on October 7. They were found guilty of severely beating Private Narzullo Saidov on July 25.
Ismoilov and Safarov will serve their terms in a high-security penal colony, an official source at the Khatlon military court said.
It is to be noted that the problem of “dedovshchina,” the often brutal hazing of new recruits by older soldiers, remain serious in the Tajik armed forces.
We will recall that the Sughd military court sentenced Sergeant Farrukh Davlatov to nine years in prison on June 19 for beating to death Private Akmal Davlatov in April. The two men are not related.
Also on June 19, a military court in Dushanbe sentenced Usmonali Ghayratov, a military doctor, to nine years in jail for seriously damaging a conscript”s health.
Shahbol Mirzoyev suffered severe spinal injuries and became paralyzed as the result of bullying in March.
Human rights organizations in Tajikistan have criticized the government for not doing enough to stop hazing in the military.
