A court in Khatlon province has found two residents of Yovon district guilty of committing murders and banditry as part of an organized criminal group in 1992.
According to the Khatlon prosecutor's office, “these two individuals, as part of the organized criminal group, were involved in robberies, banditry, and killing civilians in Yovon and Danghara districts and their surroundings to seize their money and property," an official source within the Khatlon prosecutor’s office told Asia-Plus in an interview.
The investigation into the criminal case against the 55-year-old Nurillo Rustamov and the 52-year-old Hakimjon Emomov was conducted by the Yovon prosecutor's office.
According to the investigation, Nurillo Rustamov, known by the nickname "Nurik," and Hakimjon Emomov, as part of a criminal group led by A. Samadov, attacked, beat, and robbed Burhon Saodatov, a resident of the Kuybyshev district (now Abdurahmoni-Jomi district). They took his car and a large sum of money.
In July 1992, Rustamov and three other members of this criminal group asked Azizbek Dodov, a resident of the aforementioned district, to take them to the village of Furkat. Dodov, unsuspecting of their plan, agreed to take them in his GAZ-2410 car. Near the village of Navobod, other accomplices awaited them: they stopped the car, shot the driver Azizbek Dodov, and, taking his car, drove away.
The Khatlon regional court sentenced Nurillo Rustamov to 13 years and Hakimjon Emomov to 11 years in prison.
The source did not provide information on where and how Rustamov and Emomov were detained or the fate of the other gang members: A. Samadov (leader); T. Turayev; K. Norboyev; J. Sattorov; and M. Taghoybekov.
In Tajikistan, investigations into crimes committed during the civil war years are ongoing, and the number of such cases is increasing.
