KHUJAND, June 23, 2014, Asia-Plus - Three residents of the northern city of Istaravshan will each spend more than twenty years behind bars for cruel murder of local young woman.

The Sughd regional court sentenced Ehrom Bozor, 25, to 24 years in prison and Ilhom Aliqulov, 25, and Aslon Azimbekov, 23, to 23 years in prison each on June 23. 

The sentenced followed their conviction on charges of murder committed with especial cruelty (Article 104 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code), outrage upon the dead body and violation of graves committed by a group of people or an organized group by previous concert (Article 243 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code) and a large-scale robbery committed by an organized group (Article 248 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code).

The body of young woman, who was identified as 23-year-old resident of Istaravshan Maqsouda Alijonova, was found not far from the village of Okhtangi on January 27 this year.

“The investigation has established that Ehrom Bozor, Ilhom Aliqulov and Aslon Azimbekov beat her to death and seized 2,500 somoni and three mobile phones.  In order to conceal the vestiges of the crime, they poured gasoline over the dead body and set it on fire,” an official source at the Sughd regional court said.