Deported from Austria sentenced to a long term

A resident of the Shahritus district in Tajikistan, previously deported from Austria, has been sentenced to 15 years in a strict regime colony.

This was reported by “Asia-Plus,” citing the senior assistant prosecutor of the Khatlon region, Varki Zainiddin.

The Shahritus district court found 30-year-old Farrukh Zoirov guilty under part 3 of article 32 (Preparation for a crime and attempted crime) and article 401(1) (Illegal involvement and participation in armed conflict or military actions on the territory of other states) of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan. The convicted individual sought to join the terrorist organization “Islamic State” and participate in combat operations in Syria.

According to the investigation, Farrukh was working in Moscow in 2014, where he lived in an apartment with a certain Hussein Sodikov, an active member of ISIS. Allegedly, Sodikov recommended that he travel to Turkey and from there to Syria to participate in combat operations. However, he was unable to reach Syria – during his border crossing, Farrukh was detained by Turkish authorities and deported from Turkey.

After that, Farrukh Zoirov went to Ukraine, and from there to Austria. In October 2024, Austrian authorities deported Farrukh to Tajikistan for violating the law on the stay of foreign citizens.

His former apartment neighbor, Hussein Sodikov, was detained earlier and sentenced to 18 years in prison in May 2017.

Farrukh Zoirov, his relatives, or his lawyer did not comment on the charges.

Earlier, media reports indicated that 22-year-old Alisher Makhsudov was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment. It was reported that law enforcement promised him a pardon if he voluntarily returned, convinced him to come back from abroad, but then detained him and brought charges under three articles of the Criminal Code.

Law enforcement accused this Tajik youth of participating in combat operations in Syria and of membership in the banned organization “Salafiya.”

His relatives rejected the accusations, stating that Alisher never traveled to Syria. According to them, in the year that authorities claim he was in Syria, he was actually living in Tajikistan.

According to his family, Makhsudov first went to Russia, then moved to Poland in 2021, and then to Germany. When his asylum application was rejected, he returned to Tajikistan. From there, he left for Russia again, and then to Tashkent. Authorities allegedly deceived him under the pretext of a pardon to lure him back to Tajikistan and sentenced him to a colony.