Prison sentence for former bodyguard of the commander of the People’s Front increased

The Khatlon region court sentenced Yusup (Dzhurabek) Salikhov, a bodyguard of the former commander of the People’s Front Khudja-commander, to 15 years in prison for his involvement in the murder of 22 members of one family in the Khuroson district (formerly Gozimalik). This crime was committed on October 14, 1992, in the village of Sarband in the Gozimalik district (now Khuroson district).

Gulbonu Nazarova, one of the victims’ family members, told Radio Ozodi on June 10 that “the trial concluded two weeks ago, and the court changed the previous sentence.” Earlier, in February of this year, the Bokhtar court sentenced this resident of the Khatlon region to 12 years in prison for the murders, but applied a general amnesty act to the convict and reduced the sentence from 12 to 8 years.

The Khatlon region prosecutor’s office considered the punishment “lenient” and “not commensurate with the severity of the committed crime” and sent a request to the Supreme Court of Tajikistan to review the sentence against Salikhov. Yusup Salikhov’s lawyer, Said Salimzoda, on the contrary, believed that the case against Salikhov should have been dismissed due to the statute of limitations on the crime.

Yusup Salikhov was detained in July 2023 in Russia and extradited to Dushanbe at the request of Tajikistan. In the summer of 2023, the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation reported that it had granted Tajikistan’s request for the extradition of Yusup Salikhov to hold him criminally liable for the murder of 22 people, including a pregnant woman.

“According to the investigation, on October 14, 1992, in the village of Sarband, acting in collusion with accomplices, armed with an AK-47, with the aim of stealing citizens’ property, Salikhov committed a robbery. Illegally entering the victim’s house, where family members and relatives were present, the accused opened fire on them with an automatic weapon, doused the bodies with gasoline, and set them on fire,” the statement from the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office said.

Tajik authorities then stated that Yusup Salikhov, along with ten armed accomplices, committed the murder of 22 members of one family, after which they burned the bodies of the victims. Two of the victims managed to survive, but due to gunshot wounds, they became lifelong disabled.

Khudja Karimov, also known as Khudja-commander, the former commander of the People’s Front of Tajikistan (1992-1997), was detained in Dubai nearly 19 years after fleeing Tajikistan and was extradited from the United Arab Emirates to his homeland in February 2020. In February 2022, Khudja Karimov was sentenced by the Supreme Court of Tajikistan to 21 years in prison.