Commanders of military unit in which conscript died after being beaten fired

Commanders of regiment, battalion and company from military unit 04080 in which a conscript died after being severely beaten have been fired, Faridoun Mahmadaliyev, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD), told Asia-Plus in an interview.

“The further fate of these commanders will be determined upon completion of investigation,” Mahmadaliyev said.

A MoD admitted on June 11 that the 22-year-old conscript who died on June 7 was severely beaten.

Firdavs Rahmatov from the city of Khujand, the capital of Sughd province was called up for military service on May 7 and on June 7 his body was handed over to his father Ghani Rahmatov.

Firdavs had served in military unit 04080 deployed in the northern city of Konibodom.

Ghani Rahmatov writes on Facebook page that his son died after being severely beaten by older soldiers.

A statement released by the MoD on June 11 notes that the Sughd military prosecutor’s office has instituted criminal proceedings to investigate the soldier’s death.

Sughd military prosecutor Abduqodir Nourov on June 11 gave an extraordinary press conference in Khujand over the deadly hazing incident that took place on June 7 in military unit 04080.

According to him, investigation has established that Firdavs Rahmatov died after being severely beaten by older soldiers Rabboni Sulaymonov, Komron Rahimov and Ayom Nazarov.

Criminal proceedings have been instituted against Sergeant Sulaymonov and Sergeant Rahimov under the provisions of Article 391 (3) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – abuse of authorities entailing grave consequences or death, while criminal proceedings against Private Nazarov have been instituted under the provisions of Article 373 (2) – violation of army rules.

The incident took place at the Nourafshon training ground in Isfara, the prosecutor said.

“Dedovshchina,” the often brutal hazing of new recruits by older soldiers, remains a significant problem in the Tajik army.

We will recall that a military court in Dushanbe convicted six Interior Ministry soldiers of hazing and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from two to 2 1/2 years on May 5.  The servicemen severely beat fellow soldier Akbarkhoja Abdurahmonov in November, shattering his jaw.

The trial was one of several in recent months targeting servicemen accused of such abuse.  But lawyers for the defendants said that, by law, the punishment for the crime they were convicted of ranges from five to 10 years in prison.

Human rights organizations in Tajikistan have criticized the government for not doing enough to stop hazing in the military.

In a recent change, Tajikistan’s government now allows soldiers to telephone the military prosecutor's office to report alleged hazing.

In January, a military court in Dushanbe sentenced three soldiers of the State Committee for National Security to five years in jail each for bullying and beating nine new conscripts.

In June 2014, an army sergeant in northern Sughd province was sentenced to nine years in prison for beating a conscript to death.  Also in June, a military court in Dushanbe sentenced a military doctor to nine years in jail for hazing, inflicting bodily harm, and leaving a serviceman in danger.