KHUJAND, August 9, 2013, Asia-Plus -- A judge of the Khujand military garrison has reportedly been caught red-handed while giving bribe to an officer of the Sughd military prosecutor’s office prosecutor taking bribe.

“The Khujand military garrison judge, M.S., was caught red-handed while giving 500.00 U.S. dollars to an officer of the Sughd military prosecutor’s office for deciding the case in his favor,” said the Sughd chief military prosecutor Safarali Mirozyev.  “The point is that M.S. handed down the ruling to release two defendants (one of them is servicemen) in the courtroom.  The Sughd military-prosecutor’s office has appealed against the decision of the court and M.S. tried to give bribe to prosecutor for recalling the protest.”

Criminal proceedings have been instituted against M.S. under the provisions of Article 320 (1) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code -  giving bribe to a functionary, in person or through a mediator; an investigation is under way.

According to the statistical data of the anticorruption agency’s office for Sughd, 22 cases of acceptance of a bribe by local officials and three cases of giving a bribe to anticorruption officers have been reported in northern Tajikistan over the first six months of this year.