About 30 people died during a riot in the colony of Tajikistan

24 prisoners were killed as a result of the rebellion of convicts for involvement in the Islamic State terrorist organization* in a colony in a suburb of Dushanbe, which occurred on Sunday evening, the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan said. Three employees of a correctional institution also became victims of the riots, Interfax reports.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the organizers of the riots were members of the “Islamic State’s terrorist and extremist and prohibited organization”*, and the direct leaders are Behruz Gulmurod, <...> Gulov Fakhriddin, Sharipipov Makhmadullo and Khasanov Rukhullo. ”

Behruz Gulmurod is the son of the former colonel of the OMON of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan Gulmurod Halim, who joined ISIS* and was killed in Syria. According to the agency, the organizers “inflicted stab wounds to three employees of a correctional institution - Major Murodov Burhoniddin, Major Khalimov Abdujabbor and senior lieutenant Asev Mahmud Khamidovich, as a result of which they died.”

Then, eight other prisoners who are also members of IG*were released in the penalty area. After that, “in order to intimidate the prisoners, the instigators of the“ brutal method ”inflicted stab wounds with five prisoners who died, and also beat and wounded dozens of other prisoners, said in the Ministry of Justice.

According to the ministry, then the members of this group set fire to the medical part of the colony, took the hosts of several prisoners and attacked the staff of the institution with the aim of escaping. "As a result of the response, which was carried out in accordance with the law, 24 members of this group were neutralized, and 35 others were detained. Persons taken as hostages were released," the Ministry of Justice added.

On the fact of the incident, the Prosecutor General of Tajikistan opened a criminal case, an investigation is underway. "The usual regime in an institution in which 1.5 thousand people are serving a sentence, restored, the situation is under control," is a message.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon is informed about this incident. The highway leading to the city of Wahdat, where the colony is located, is taken under enhanced security.

In November 2018, riots occurred in a colony of maximum regime of the city of Khujand in the north of the republic. One of the prisoners, a member of the Islamic State*, disarmed the guard, taking away the machine gun from him, and began to shoot at the warders and security, then the prisoners captured one of the colony buildings. Special forces of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Sogdian region suppressed the rebellion a few hours later. Then 25 prisoners were killed, two guards were also killed.

When trying to attack the internal security post, to escape, 21 prisoners were neutralized. The incident in Khujand caused the change in the leadership of the Main Directorate of Punishment of the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan. Eight employees of the Khujand colony were sentenced to various terms on charges of negligence. Almost 30 prisoners of the colonies of Khujand were accused of organizing unrest.