KHUJAND, September 20, Asia-Plus - The trial of four servicemen of the frontier post “Lakkon” at the Tajik-Kyrgyz border in Isfara began in a military court in Khujand, the capital of the Sughd province, on September 19.  

Commander this frontier post Narzullo Safarov and three soldiers serving for a fixed period – Gulmurod Mirzoyev, Mahmadullo Ikromov, and Mirjamol Rustamov – stand trial.  Proceedings started with the reading of the indictment, which charges Narzullo Safarov, Gulmurod Mirzoyev and Mirjamol Rustamov with abuse of office, negligence, crime attempt, and theft committed by a group of persons.  Mirjamol Rustamov is charged with abuse of service powers and violation of rules of border service causing grave consequences. 

A source in the military court noted that the mentioned servicemen were absent on the night of May 11-12 when a group of gunmen attacked the frontier post.   “By order of Safarov, Mirzoyev and Ikromov took with them five other soldiers and went to cut trees for the purpose of further pushing them,” the source said.

We will recall that an armed group numbering more than six people on the night of May 11-12 and attacked the Tajik frontier post “Lakkon”.   As a result of skirmish, two Tajik border guards were killed and one other was injured.  The assailants seized 17 sub-machine-guns, one machine-gun and cartridges.  They headed to the Kyrgyz region of Batken.  When their Opel overturned, they hijacked a Mercedes Benz, killing the driver.  Along the way to Osh, 100 kilometers of Batken, the gunmen attacked a unit of the Kyrgyz border guards and customs officers near the village of Pungon, killing two border guards and injuring one customs officer.