DUSHANBE, July 21, 2012, Asia-Plus – Not all persons involved in murder of Kholmumin Safarov, chief of the Forest and Hunting Agency under the Committee for Environmental Protection, have been detained so far, Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimov told journalists in Dushanbe on July 20.
According to him, only the main suspect in murder of Kholmumin Safarov has been detained to date. The minister refrained from giving further details of the crime and possible motives for the murder. He also refrained from disclosing the name, age, and other details about the suspect.
“All details in this crime are the secrecy of investigation and I call on all journalists to wait until the end of the investigation, when the full detailed information on this case will be given,” the minister noted.
We will recall that Tajik law enforcement officials noted that the suspect in the murder of Kholmumin Safarov, the brother-in-law of Tajikistan”s President Emomali Rahmon, was detained in Dushanbe on July 14. Tajik Interior Affairs Ministry officials said at a press conference that the suspect was detained following a lengthy undercover operation, and that a search is continuing for accomplices. The name, age, and other details about the suspect were not disclosed.
As it had been reported earlier, Kholmumin Safarov, 57, was found dead after being shot by unknown assailants on June 13. Police say Safarov was shot in the head, chest, and stomach. The shooting is reported to have occurred as he was returning to his home after evening prayers at a nearby mosque.
A native of Khatlon’s Vose district, Safarov, the husband of Rahmon”s eldest sister, had been serving as chief of the Tajik government”s forest and hunting agency. Some media sources say that while many of the president”s relatives control major Tajik companies and banks, Safarov wasn”t known to be involved in big business.
