, April 11, Asia-plus - Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Ramazan Abdulatipov believes that a St. Petersburg court verdict on March 30 in the murder of a 9-year-old Tajik girl Khursheda Sultonova will be reviewed. 

In his interview with one of local newspapers, Mr. Abdulatipov has expressed hope that Russian courts of higher instance will give an adequate assessment to this crime and those responsible for the murder will be brought to justice.

He noted that that crime was under control of Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office’s.  “Unfortunately, many both in the Russian Federation and Tajikistan use this crime for their own political PR,” said the ambassador, “This case is also used by radical forces for depreciating that huge potential of friendship and cooperation that had historically formed between our peoples.  I consider such actions immoral because the question is of a big tragedy, which concerns, first of all, Russian society because such crimes are dedicated to break unity of the Russian people.”

“This crime is tragedy for all of us – Russians, Tajiks, and it has proved once again that it is necessary to combine efforts to fight against such xenophobic and racist acts, which are not acceptable for our peoples and cultures,” Russian ambassador said.  

We will recall that the St. Petersburg city court on March 30 sentenced seven teenagers to prison sentences ranging from 1? years to 5? years for the 2004 murder of Tajik girl.  

Khursheda Sultonova was killed on February 9, 2004 as she was walking with her father and 11-year-old cousin in a St. Petersburg street.  A group of about 12 young men attacked them with baseball bats, chains, and knives, and stabbed the girl to death.