A 24-year-old female police officer from the southern city of Kulob, who was beaten by two unidentified assailants last month, has been fired.
Umarjon Emomali, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, says Lieutenant Mariam Sharifzoda has been fired for violation of service (labor) discipline.
According to him, she was always running late for work. Emomali has refrained from giving further details.
The Kulob prosecutor’s office is continuing investigation into the attack on Mariam Sharifzoda.
Recall, two people assaulted Mariam Sharifzoda near her house in Kulob on the evening of May 16. The policewoman, Maryam Sharifzoda, had to be treated for her wounds in hospital.
Meanwhile, EurasiaNet.org reported on May 18 that according to some sources, Sharifzoda was involved in enforcing the informal hijab ban, and the attacks could have been inspired by online Islamic State propaganda exhorting sympathizers to attack representatives of the law enforcement community.
It is to be noted that Mariam Sharifzoda was attacked around 100 meters from the earlier attack on a 25-year-old security officer Muhiddin Yulayev.
Overnight on May 14, Muhiddin Yulayev, an officer with the State Committee for National Security (SCNS)’s office for Kulob, was hospitalized with 24 stab wounds after being assaulted by unknown persons. The incident occurred in the center of Kulob.
Six people were detained in Kulob in late May on suspicion of attempting on security officer’s life. Tajik law enforcement authorities say all of them are followers of the Salafi group.
