May 16 marked five months since the murder of a 10-year-old Qobiljon Alieyv, which shocked the world. He was killed on December 16, 2025, in a school in the Moscow region on the grounds of national hatred. A 16-year-old Russian citizen was detained in connection with the murder case.
A few days ago, Asia-Plus visited Qobiljon’s mother, Niloufar Safoyeva, who now lives in Dushanbe.
The day of tragedy
Niloufar Safoyeva recounted that December 16, 2025, was an ordinary day for her and her sons. In the morning, running a bit late, she took her sons — Qobiljon and Sunnatulo — to school, and then went to work. However, she mentioned that the night before, Qobiljon couldn’t sleep and asked her and his younger brother to stay awake. They ended up talking until one in the morning.
Niloufar Safoyeva shared that recently Qobiljon had been having various dreams and wanted to tell her about them, but she, fearing for her son’s safety, did not allow him to share them. According to her, once Qobiljon told his aunt: “I dreamed that I was going to school, and my father was coming down the stairs on a white horse and taking me with him.”
According to Safoyeva, on the morning of the tragedy, Qobiljon didn’t eat anything, citing a lack of appetite.
She recounted that around 13:00–13:30 on the day of the tragedy, she started receiving dozens of messages and calls simultaneously. She answered one of them — her younger son Sunnatulo, with a crying voice, asked her to urgently come to the school. On the way to the school, which was a twenty-minute drive from her work, she was reading messages asking where Kobiljon was and what happened to him.
“As I was driving, all my thoughts were about the children — what could have happened to them and what they might have done. The phone kept ringing non-stop, but I didn’t answer. I was confused and cried all the way to the school. Finally, I arrived. Outside, besides journalists and government representatives, there was no one. Inside the school, there were many teachers and police officers.
When I entered, everyone said: ‘We lost Kobiljon, he’s in the morgue.’ His teacher hugged me and cried. At that moment, it seemed to me that the sky fell on my head, and I screamed: ‘What was my son guilty of?’ Then I was given an injection, and I lost consciousness…” — Niloufar recounts with tears in her eyes.
When the woman regained consciousness, there were many people around her, including law enforcement officers and doctors, “the world seemed dark to me — I couldn’t comprehend the terrible tragedy that had occurred.”
‘His teacher, a few other students and I gave statements right at the school. I had no strength, but my sisters helped. They asked if we had any connection with the killer. I was again surprised and asked what had happened. They didn’t tell me anything — just gave me medicine and calmed me down,’ continued Qobiljon’s mother.
Safoyeva recounted that that day they returned home around 19:00, and many people came to express their condolences. Although she saw people coming and going, she heard nothing and couldn’t comprehend anything.
“The next morning, his classmates and teacher came, bringing his clothes. Beyond that, I don’t remember how we got to the airport or what happened. I only remember my sisters saying that the funeral would be in Hisor. I replied: no, we will bury him next to his father,” – the woman recounts.
Attempt to return to normal life
Despite the five months that have passed and the impossibility of forgetting what happened, Niloufar Safoyeva is trying to return to normal life and is now engaged in sewing. According to her, she wants to master the craft and teach it to dozens of other girls.
‘Just as all mothers were there for me, I want to be there for all mothers,’ she says.
Her younger son Sunnatulo Aliyev is now studying at the Presidential Lyceum in Dushanbe.
Safoyeva expresses gratitude to everyone who helped her and was not indifferent to her son’s case. She noted that it was this support and empathy that helped her endure what happened and continue living.
‘Qobiljon wanted to become a famous person and buy a white house’
According to her, people from all over the world still send her messages, remembering Kobiljon and expressing condolences.
In school No. 27 in the city of Hisor, where Qobiljon studied in the first grade, a memorial plaque was installed. Benefactors from Russia’s Dagestan laid a drinking water line in Bangole (Bangladesh), naming it after Qobiljon.
Safoyeva recounted that Qobiljon dreamed of becoming a famous person, working, buying a white house, and glorifying his father’s name…
The trial of the suspect will begin in September
According to Niloufar Safoyeva, the trial of the suspect in her son’s murder has not yet begun.
‘Three days ago, the lawyers working with us said that the trial would begin in September. Three more articles were added to the suspect’s case,’ the interlocutor reported.
It is not possible to confirm this information through other sources at this time.
Thus, it is unknown at what stage the case is and what else the accused is suspected of.
The murder of Qobiljon
Qobiljon Aliev was killed on December 16, 2025, in a school in the Moscow region by a 16-year-old teenager who attacked him with a knife on the grounds of national hatred. The attacker broadcasted the crime on social media.
In the footage of the incident, published by the Mash channel, a teenager with a knife approaches a group of students and asks: “What is your nationality?”. After the murder, the attacker was detained right at the school by law enforcement officers. He confessed to the crime, a criminal case was initiated against him under the articles “murder” and “attempted murder” (part 3 of article 105 and part 2 of article 30 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and he was arrested for two months.
The media writes that before the attack, he sent his classmates his “manifesto” titled “My Fury,” in which he spoke against Jews, Muslims, antifascists, and liberals.
At the same time, the publication Gazeta.ru, citing the Investigative Committee of Russia, reported that “the detained teenager admitted that he had been preparing to commit this crime for some time.”
The body of the Tajik teenager was brought to Tajikistan on December 18, 2025, and buried in his homeland — in the Shahrinav district.
Reaction of Tajik and Russian authorities
The authorities of Tajikistan promptly responded to the murder of Kobiljon Aliev. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador in Dushanbe and handed over a note. Heads of investigative, law enforcement, and human rights bodies also contacted their Russian counterparts or sent letters expressing concern and demanding an objective investigation.
A week after the murder, on December 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin, at an informal summit of CIS heads of state in St. Petersburg, during a meeting with Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, called the crime a “terrorist act,” expressed condolences to Qobiljon Aliev’s family and relatives, and promised an objective investigation into the murder of the 10-year-old Tajik boy.
Emomali Rahmon also emphasized the need for a real and impartial investigation of the murder and bringing all those responsible to strict criminal liability.
The murder of Qobiljon once again highlighted Russia’s painful issue — xenophobia and interethnic hatred, which in recent years have been actively promoted by some politicians and public figures in the country. Experts consider the atmosphere of migrant phobia and impunity for xenophobia manifestations in Russia the main reason for the tragedy. Under the influence of these ideas, as reported in the media, at least six brutal murders of Tajik children have been committed in Russia over the past 22 years.
