Tajik Armed Group Leader Sentenced To 22 Years

4 October 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Tajikistan's Supreme Court has sentenced the former leader of an armed Islamic group to 22 years in prison for organizing a terrorist act, RFE/RL's Tajik Service.
A court spokesman said Yoribek Ibragimov, who is also known as "Sheikh," was found guilty of organizing an attack in August 2004 on a police building and the prosecutor's office in the eastern Tajikabad region. One police officer was reported wounded in the assault.

Four other associates of Ibragimov were also found guilty and have been sentenced to prison terms of between 11 and 16 years.

These include the former driver of Mahmudruzi Iskandarov, the imprisoned chief of the opposition Democratic Party and former chief of state-run Tajikgaz. Iskandarov could face 25 years in prison during his scheduled sentencing on 5 October on terrorism and other charges.

On 3 October, Iskandarov reiterated his denial of charges that he masterminded the Tajikabad attack, saying he had no connection to it.

(RFE/RL's Tajik Service/AFP)