Law enforcement authorities in Dushanbe have solved a kidnapping carried out by an organized criminal group 25 years ago, the Dushanbe Police Department reported.
According to police, on the morning of January 21, 2000, unknown individuals abducted 16-year-old Manouchehr Sharipov near School No. 55 in the capital. The teenager was the son of Haqnazar Sharipov, who at the time served as deputy prosecutor of Tajikistan’s Transport Prosecutor’s Office.
Investigators said the crime was committed for personal motives and for the purpose of obtaining a large ransom. The kidnapping was allegedly organized by Khudoynazar Odinayev, identified as the leader of an organized criminal group.
Other participants included Abdulhaq Samadov, Rivojiddin Odinayev, and several other residents of Vahdat Township.
The kidnapped teenager was held for 65 days under armed guard in the village of Tangai, which is subordinate to Vahdat Township. The perpetrators demanded and received a ransom of $50,000 from the victim’s parents, after which the boy was released.
Criminal proceedings have now been instituted against members of the group under Article 130 (2) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code — kidnapping.
Police noted that the alleged ringleader, Khudoynazar Odinayev, was killed in 2013 after resisting law enforcement officers following the commission of another crime.
Among the group’s members, Abdulhaq Samadov has been detained and placed in custody, while the remaining suspects have been declared wanted.
The authorities did not disclose how investigators identified the suspects or the circumstances under which Samadov was arrested.
