DUSHANBE, April 7, Asia-Plus  -- The Tajik Prosecutor-General’s Office will formally bring charges against two Tajik nationals – Masrurjon Yatimov and Najmiddin Muhiddinov -- who are suspected of killing of Ilyas Shurpayev, a reporter for Russia’s Channel One television, before the end of this week,, according to the Tajik Prosecutor-General’s Office.

The source at the Tajik chief prosecutor’s office said that representatives from the Russian chief prosecutor’s office arrived in Dushanbe at the end of last week and they have already handed over a major part of materials of this criminal case to Tajik prosecutors.

“Besides, we have produced additional evidences to prove complicity of Yatimov and Muhiddinov in the murder of Shurpayev,” the source said.  However, he refrained from giving the details “in the interest of investigation.”   

We will recall that a joint Tajik-Russian police operation led to the arrest of two Tajik nationals suspected of having killed Ilyas Shurpayev.  

Yatimov and Muhiddinov allegedly killed the Russian reporter in his rented apartment in Moscow during the night of March 20-21 and stole 150,000 Russian rubles (RR).  The next day after killing they flew to Tajikistan, where they were detained on March 29.  Later, Tajik police arrested Ziyoviddin Muhiddinov, the brother of Najmiddin Muhiddinov, who faces charge of not reporting the crime.