The criminal case of 28-year-old Madina Halimova from Farkhor district in Khatlon province, accused of killing her four young children by throwing them into the Surkhob River, has been finalized and referred to the Khatlon regional court, an official sources within the Kulob prosecutor’s office told Asia-Plus in an interview.
The official confirmed that the case is already under judicial review, though no verdict has yet been issued. Details of the investigation remain undisclosed.
According to Emergencies Committee under the Government of Tajikistan, on the night of June 30 Halimova threw her children — aged between two months and five years — into the river one by one before jumping in herself. She managed to survive, but all four children drowned.
Rescue workers later recovered the bodies of three of the children: three-year-old Zaynab, two-month-old Muhammad, and two-year-old Yosamin. The body of the eldest child, five-year-old Latofat, has not been found despite four separate search operations in the Surkhob and Panj rivers. Authorities have since suspended further efforts.
Halimova remains in custody and has been charged under Article 104 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – murder, which carries a sentence of 15 years to life imprisonment.
While the woman’s relatives claimed she had been suffering from a mental disorder, her lawyer dismissed the allegation, attributing her actions to jealousy.
The case has sparked strong public reaction in Tajikistan. The country’s ombudsman called for urgent measures to strengthen child protection.
This is not the first such tragedy in Tajikistan: in recent years, there have been other incidents in which women attempted to take their own lives along with their children.
