DUSHANBE, July 11, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- New details of recent St. Petersburg incident, involving representative of Tajik national carrier, Tajik Air, in St. Petersburg, have emerged.

The Russian Interior Ministry’s office for St. Petersburg says Qiyomiddin Saidov, representative of Tajik Air in St. Petersburg, was not beaten by police officers, he was beaten by other persons.

Elmar Shakhrizayev, deputy chief of the information department within Russian Interior Ministry’s office in St. Petersburg, says he knew about that incident from report posted on the Asia-Plus website.

“After your information we visited Qiyomiddin Saidov in hospital,” said Shahrizayev.  “Saidov, however, keeps silent.”

According to him, witnesses allegedly testified that Saidov and his friends fought that night with other group of persons and Saidov sustained those injuries in that fight.   “When police came, the other participants in the fight escaped.”  Shakhrizayev says Saidov is now in satisfactory condition.

We will recall that a letter received from Farrukh Sattorov, head of the regional public organization “Youth Association of Tajik Students in St. Petersburg,” on July 10 says that representative of Tajik Air in St. Petersburg Qiyomiddin Saidov, who is also co-founder of the regional public organization “Youth Association of Tajik Students in St. Petersburg,” has been severely beaten by police near his restaurant on the Moskovsky Avenue in St. Petersburg’s Admiralteysky district.  

According to Sattorov, the incident took place on the night of July 6-7, at around 1:30 am.  “Saidov was seeing his guests as far as their car, when a police car stooped near them and police officers asked to show their documents,” said Sattorov.  “Police officers then asked whether they have weapons and Saidov’s guests answered in the affirmative and showed permits to possess weapons.”

After verbal skirmish, police officers reportedly put handcuffs on Saidov and began to beat him.

Saidov has already been in the Mariinsky Hospital for four days.