Last week marked the one-year anniversary of the high-profile murder of an elderly couple in the village of Sayhoun subordinate to the northern city of Kanibodom.
On the night of April 16-17, 2024, Muzaffar Urmonov and his wife Inoyat Urmonova were mysteriously killed in this village.
This became the second family murder in Kanibodom in less than three weeks; the tragedy caused a real panic in the village.
Twenty-one days after the murder, a 66-year-old Sharifjon Ashourov, Muzaffar Urmonov's brother, was arrested on charges of committing the crime. Seven months later, on December 12, 2024, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Four months after the sentence, both Sharifjon Ashourov's and Muzaffar Urmonov's relatives appealed the court's decision. They claim that Sharifjon confessed to the crime under torture.
Madina Saidulloyeva, the daughter of the murdered couple, is also convinced that her uncle Sharifjon Ashourov did not kill her parents, and that the real murderer is someone else.
"We are being kicked like a football"
Sharifjon Ashourov's relatives claim that he confessed to the crime under torture.
"In front of my brother Sharifjon, they beat me and his wife to force him to take the blame. In the end, my brother said, 'Don’t beat the women, tell me what to say—I’ll agree. Wherever you say, I’ll sign.' That’s how he confessed," says Sharifa Khomatova, his sister.
Madina Saidulloyeva is concerned that her appeals and complaints to the court to review her uncle's case have not yielded any results. She says that the Supreme Court considered the appeal without her participation and left the verdict unchanged.
Dildora Ghiyosova, Sharifjon Ashourov's daughter, says that she appealed to the President’s Office and the Prosecutor-General's Office, but it brought no results.
“We go to Dushanbe—they send us to Sughd, Sughd sends us to Dushanbe. They’re kicking us around like a football,” she says.
The country's authorities, apart from the official announcement of the arrest and verdict, have not provided any additional information. Attempts by Asia-Plus to get clarifications from the police, prosecutor's office, and court were also unsuccessful.
"Ordinary murders"
A year after a series of mysterious murders in Kanibodom, anxiety among the population remains. For example, vehicle checks at the city’s entrance are still in place. However, the round-the-clock duty organized by the locals has ceased, although the tents where the guards stayed are still standing.
To remind, over the first nine months of 2024, 23 people from 7 families were murdered in Kanibodom. These terrible and mysterious murders shocked not only the city's residents but the entire country.
During this time, videos began circulating on social media featuring masked individuals, causing even greater fear among the population. Residents reinforced doors and windows with metal bars, and some moved to other regions to stay with relatives. Men burned bonfires at night and took turns patrolling the streets.
After a long silence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs labeled the committed crimes as “ordinary murders” and announced that the suspects had been arrested. Among those arrested was Sharifjon Ashourov.
However, even after their statement, the murders continued.
Finally, on December 21, 2024, nine months after the start of the series of crimes, the Prosecutor-General's Office published a statement saying that four people had been arrested in Kanibodom.
