DUSHANBE, May 11, 2015, Asia-Plus – The Interior Ministry of Tajikistan reports that the country’s law enforcement authorities have decided to help Tajik nationals, who were involved in military conflicts in Syria and Iraq by mistake and who expressed remorse and want to return home.
An official source at the Interior Ministry says that according to information they received, dozens of Tajik nationals left the ranks of illegal armed formations in Iraq and Syria and they are currently in Turkey.
“They do not dare return home for fear of criminal persecution, and therefore, we recall that Tajiks who return from and Iraq and Syria voluntarily and express remorse are exempt from punishment,” the source said.
Meanwhile speaking in Kulob at a seminar on cooperation between the law enforcement authorities and youth on combating extremism, Tajik Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda noted today that 348 Tajik nationals are fighting alongside the Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.
“To-date, criminal proceedings have been instituted against 150 Tajik nationals fighting in Syria and Iraq,” the minister said.
We will recall that a 25-year-old man from the city of Khujand, Farrukh Sharipov, traveled to Syria to fight alongside militants of the Islamic State (IS), but fled from the group after he saw their brutal tactics. Speaking to the public in Dushanbe on May 7, he described horrors of the Islamic State.
He provided a gruesome account of his time fighting in Syria, saying he was appalled by the cruel and “barbaric” actions he witnessed. Sharipov said that many people were beheaded by Islamic State (IS) militants on the basis of unproven accusations, with no proper investigations or legitimate trials.
We will recall that Farrukh Sharipov is the fifth Tajik national who has returned voluntarily from fighting in Syria.
Tajiks who return from Syria voluntarily and express remorse are reportedly exempt from punishment under Article 187 of Tajikistan”s Penal Code.
