Interpol has excluded Tajik fugitive police colonel, the highest profile recruit to the Islamic State (IS) terror group from Tajikistan, from its wanted list. The Tajik law enforcement authorities have been surprised to learn that Gulmurod Halimov was excluded from the Interpol wanted list.
“We have sent a letter to Interpol to know why Gulmurod Halimov, who joined the IS terror group and is internationally wanted, was excluded from the Interpol wanted list,” an official source at the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan told Asia-Plus in an interview.
“He should be on Interpol’s most wanted list until he is arrested or his death is official confirmed,” the source added.
Recall, Colonel Gulmurod Halimov was commander of the Tajik special police unit, known as OMON. He went missing in April 2015 and later appeared on the Internet, saying he had joined the IS group.
In early June 2015, Halimov was placed on the Interpol wanted list and Tajikistan charged him with treason and involvement in a criminal group along with other crimes.
In August 2016, the U.S. State Department called Halimov a key member of the IS extremist group and offered a $3 million reward for information on his whereabouts.
Western media reports quoted Iraqi officials on April 14 this year as saying that Halimov was killed in an air strike in Mosul, Iraq. His death has not been confirmed by IS, the United States, or Tajikistan.
Several days later, Tajik officials arrested Halimov’s 18-year-old son, Behrouz Halimov, on charges of trying to join his father in Syria. Behrouz Halimov was reportedly arrested at the Dushanbe airport on April 17 while boarding the Dushanbe-Moscow flight.
The Dushanbe city court sentenced Behrouz Halimov to ten years in prison last month. The sentence followed his conviction on charges of preparation for crime or criminal attempt (Article 32 of Tajikistan’s Penal Court) and mercenary activities (Article 401 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code). Behrouz Halimov will serve his term in a high-security penal colony.
Four relatives of Gulmurod Halimov were killed during a fight with Tajik police that took place on July 4 in Vose district in Khatlon province. Two of Halimov’s brothers and two nephews were killed after resisting when police raided a house in Ibrat village. The operation’s leader, Colonel Anvar Huseynov, reportedly received several stab wounds. Security sources said that they suspect the men were preparing to cross into Afghanistan. The four men had not been formally charged with Islamic State membership but had been under surveillance in Dushanbe, suspected of involvement with the group Gulmurod defected from state service to join in 2015.
On July 4, Kyrgyz new agency Akipress repeated Russian media reports that another of Halimov’s nephews, F. Halimov, had been extradited to Tajikistan in late June. The allegation is that he was recruiting for IS and planning on going to Syria, via Turkey.
