Border conflict: Two citizens of Tajikistan sentenced to life imprisonment

A court in Batken region of Kyrgyzstan sentenced two citizens of Tajikistan, Askar Yunusov and Abdurozik Kakhkhorov, to life imprisonment. Central Asia News Service reports.

The court found them guilty under the articles «Crimes against peace» and «Looting» of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic.

«The Tajiks were arrested shortly after the armed conflict that took place at the Tajik-Kyrgyz border on April 28-29,» the news agency reports.

Tajikistan’s authorities have not yet commented on the verdict to Kakhkhorov and Yunusov.

Abdulaziz Yunusov, the father of convicted Askar Yunusov, told Radio Ozodi that the verdict was announced on September 14. The trial, he said, took place behind closed doors; relatives of the accused were not allowed into the courtroom.

Nargis Jabborova, the wife of Abdurozik Kakhkhorov, told Radio Ozodi that only a lawyer appointed by Kyrgyzstan, Mels Abduraimov, was present at the trial.

The border conflict took place on April 28 in the area of Golovnoy water distribution point. After that, it developed into the use of army units and heavy equipment. Some 189 Kyrgyzstanis were injured in the events, 36 people died, including children. The Prosecutor General’s Office began pre-trial proceedings under the article «Crime against peace» of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic and assessed the actions of Tajikistan as a military invasion.