DUSHANBE, February 22, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Resident of Vahdat district has been arrested on suspicion of harboring jailbreak fugitive.

The source at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) says resident of Simiganj jamoat (community) in Vahdat, D.N., 49, was arrested on February 21 on suspicion of harboring Ibrohim Nasreddinov, better known as Qori Ibrohim, who escaped from the detention facility in Dushanbe last summer.

Criminal proceedings have been instituted against D.N. under the provisions of Article 347 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – not reporting crime or misprision of crime, and an investigation is under way.

Ibrohim Nasreddinov, who is considered one of alleged masterminds of last year’s prison break was detained in Vahdat district on September 2, 2010.

We will recall that 25 convicts serving long jail terms escaped from the detention facility in the early hours of morning of August 23, 2010 killing five prison guards.  Dressing in camouflage, the escapees reportedly fled toward eastern Tajikistan.  The majority of the fugitives were among 46 people convicted by the Supreme Court on August 19 of terrorism, drug trafficking, and seeking the forcible overthrow of the government.  The escaped prisoners include six Russian citizens, four Afghans, and two Uzbeks.  Most were accused of participating in last year''s armed rebellion in Tavildara.

By December 19, three escaped (including one Russian and Afghan national) have been killed when resisting arrest and twelve others (including two Russians and three Afghans) have been recaptured in Dushanbe, eastern Tajikistan as well as in Afghanistan.  The government forces currently continue to hunt for the remaining ten fugitives.