DUSHANBE, June 5, 2015, Asia-Plus — Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports that it wasn”t so long ago that Farrukh Sharifov had settled into a home in Syria with a group of fellow Islamic State (IS) group recruits, believing he was there to fight the good fight.
Now the 25-year-old is back in his native Tajikistan, helping the government prevent others from following his path to militancy.
Sharifov is among a small number of former IS fighters who”ve taken Dushanbe up on its offer to grant amnesties to Tajiks who voluntarily leave the radical militant group and who are deemed not to be a threat to society.
Those who pass the vetting process and are amnestied are spared criminal charges upon their return, but the state has put some, like Sharifov, to good use.
Eloquent and fluent in Tajik and Russian, Sharifov tells packed audiences about the horrors he witnessed during his month-long stint in the IS stronghold of Raqqa earlier this year. He describes seeing people summarily executed without trial, women used as sex slaves, and militants putting severed heads on display as a warning to anyone who dares challenge their strict interpretation of Islam.
Despite the significant threat posed by IS-trained militants, Tajikistan has opted for a forgiving approach for those who had no previous affiliation with terrorist or extremist groups and who repent for joining IS.
It”s up to those individuals to find their way to Turkey or other states, but once there the government will provide them assistance in getting their documents together and setting them up with transportation home.
It also offers assistance — for those who leave IS-controlled territories and reach Turkey – in obtaining passports and tickets to come home.
In order to convince prospective returnees that the offer is genuine, the ministry has set up a hotline, called the Trust Line, that fighters considering a return can call.
Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports that at least six Tajiks, including a young woman, have returned from Syria in recent months.
After being questioned by authorities, five of the returnees were granted full amnesties and set free. One is to go on trial in Dushanbe after being charged with taking part in a foreign military conflict.
Despite potential security risks by the new breed of IS-trained militants, many Tajiks support the amnesty, with some hailing it as a second chance for “young people who have recognized their mistakes.”
Rizvon Ahmadov, a former IS fighter who has recently returned from Raqqa, told Tajik state TV that there are many Tajiks in Syria willing to leave the IS group.
Ahmadov, 22, said he went to Syria to fight for a religious cause and spent nine months there undergoing militant training.
“But there is no religion,” Ahmadov said. “When they occupy a place, they kill local men and marry or sell their wives. They rape women and sell children. They oppress people living there.”
Disillusioned and deeply traumatized by IS atrocities, Ahmadov and fellow Tajik Mavjuda Saburova managed to escape to Turkey and sought help from the Tajik Embassy.
Officials say first-hand accounts of IS horrors will help prevent young Tajiks from being swayed by extremist propaganda.
