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Tajik Colonel And Sergeant Among Soldiers Handed Lengthy Prison Terms For Treatment Of Recruits


Tajik soldiers react to the verdict being announced on May 30.
Tajik soldiers react to the verdict being announced on May 30.

A Tajik colonel, a sergeant, and six former soldiers have been handed lengthy prison terms for beating young recruits. Sources told RFE/RL on May 31 that the Supreme Court convicted and sentenced the defendants a day earlier to prison terms of between 9 1/2 and 11 1/2 years on a charge of violating military regulations concerning relations between personnel. The defendants were arrested in April after a video showing a group of soldiers humiliating some recruits appeared on the Internet and caused a public outcry just as conscription had begun for a mandatory two-year service in the Central Asian nation's armed forces. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Tajik Service, click here.

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