DUSHANBE, May 25, 2016, Asia-Plus – Two nephews of Khumairo Mirova, known to be the second wife of a fugitive Tajik colonel, Gulmurod Halimov, have got long jail terms for helping their aunt leave for Syria with the couple’s four children.
A court in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district sentenced Zohirjon Tohiri and Saifullo Salimzoda to 15 years in prison each on May 25.
The sentence followed their conviction on charges of illegal involvement of nationals of Tajikistan and stateless persons in foreign armed conflicts (Article 401’ (1) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code).
We will recall that Khumairo Mirova left for Syria along with her four children in February this year.
Her relatives confirmed on February 28 that she left Tajikistan in early February but insisted that they were unaware of her whereabouts.
According to the family, Mirova told them she was going on vacation and asked them not to try to contact her until she calls them herself.
Mirova, 40, worked as a spokesperson for the Customs Service under the Government of Tajikistan, but her employer said she has been on a maternity leave since the summer of 2015.
According to some sources, Mirova became Halimov”s second wife 10 years ago.
Gulmurod Halimov, the former commander of the Interior Ministry”s special forces disappeared in April 2015. He later appeared on a video to confirm that he had defected to the Islamic State militant group in Syria.
Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda told reporters in Dushanbe on January 25, 2016 that Halimov has been seriously wounded twice. The minister claimed IS was now paying Halimov $100 a month as a “pension.”
The interior minister said Tajik authorities were continuing efforts to capture Halimov.
