The Supreme Court of Tajikistan has sentenced the country's police colonel Akmal Yusufzoda to 19 years in prison, following a demand from the state prosecutor for a 20-year sentence. The court found Yusufzoda guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Ismoil Rahmonov, a teacher at the Commercial Institute. Despite his claims that he did not intend to kill the teacher, he was convicted.
Additionally, Ismoildzhon Shukurov, a relative of Yusufzoda, received a 12-year prison sentence. Shukurov's lawyers rejected the accusations during the trial, stating that their client was unaware he was participating in the kidnapping and believed he was assisting a police officer in apprehending a criminal.
According to the press service of the Supreme Court in response to a written request from Radio Ozodi, the verdicts for Akmal Yusufzoda and Ismoildzhon Shukurov were issued on February 28th.
Yusufzoda was found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping (part 2 of article 130) and murder with particular cruelty (part 2 of article 104) of the Criminal Code. As for Ismoildzhon Shukurov, he was only convicted of kidnapping.
The reactions of the convicted individuals' relatives and the family of the late teacher Ismoil Rahmonov to the court's verdict remain unknown. It is unclear how satisfied they are with the court's decision.
