DUSHANBE, August 24, 2011, Asia-Plus -- Valikhon Mulloyev, formerly chief of the division for combating human trafficking at the Interior Ministry organize crime control department (UBOP), has been appointed to head the Khatlon regional state body empowered to combat organized crime.  The order on appointment of Valikhon Mulloyev as head of the Khatlon organized crime control department was signed on August 20.  

According to the UBOP head Jourakhon Zoirov, Mulloyev has already entered upon his new duties.

We will recall Valikhon Mulloyev has represented Anvar Taghoymurodov, who is former head of UBOP and current deputy interior minister, in the trail against the Asia-Plus newspaper.  Hearing over lawsuit filed by Taghoymurodov against the Asia-Plus newspaper was resumed in the court of Dushanbe’s Firdvasi district on August 17 and according to the Asia-Plus’s lawyers Shuhrat Qudratov and Abdurahmon Sharipov, Mulloyev threatened them.  The lawyers say Mulloyev allegedly called them “enemies of the police” and said, “I would personally shoot you.”  He then allegedly added, “I will destroy you in every possible way.”  According to them, he repeated that several times in the presence of witnesses.  On August 18, the lawyers applied to the Prosecutor-General’s Office, asking to find the threat by Valikhon Mulloyev against them to be real because he is duty-bound to have access to weapon and the Interior Ministry launched a probe into that case on August 19.