DUSHANBE, October 12, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- The Prosecutor-General’s Office has studied criminal proceedings instituted against ex-first deputy chairman of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS), Qosimjon Ghafarov, and dropped criminal charges against him, the Prosecutor-General Sherkhon Salimzoda announced at a  news conference in Dushanbe on October 12.

“The Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption has instituted criminal proceedings against Qosimjon Ghafarov,” said Salimzoda, “We have studded the case and dropped it for failure of evidences to prove charges.”

We will recall that criminal proceedings were instituted against Ghafarov in early October under the provisions of two articles of Tajikistan’s Pena Code – Article 316 (misuse of powers) and Article 358 (illegal deprivation of liberty).  Criminal proceedings instituted against Ghafarov were reportedly connected to criminal proceedings instituted against ex-deputy chief of the Main Border Guards Directorate within SCNS, Saymiddin Mirzoyev.

Colonel Saymiddin Mirzoyev was caught by the anticorruption officers red-handed in mid-April when he was taking bribe (15,000 U.S. dollars) for hiding a drug-trafficking crime.  Criminal proceedings were instituted against Mirzoyev under the provisions of Article 319 (bribery) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code.

The other fact in Ghafarov’s cases was connected to illegal detention of two persons during the operation, codenamed “Border Guard,” which was carried out in the summer of 2009.

Major-General Qosimjon Ghafarov was relieved of his post of first deputy chairman of SCNS on September 2.