DUSHANBE , July 12, Asia-Plus - Tajikistan ’s Supreme Court has sentenced former deputy head of the Bobojonghafurov Police Directorate and form commander of the “SOBR” Special Operations of the Sughd Police Department Jamshed Samadov to 19 years in prison. 

Judge Noor Noorov, who took in the trial of Samadov’s case, says the sentence followed his conviction on charges of drug trafficking and exceeding authority.

We will recall that Jamshed Samadov has faced charges under seven articles of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code: Article 327 (illegal keeping of bodyguards); Article 318 (participation in illegal entrepreneurship); Article 170 (monogamy); Article 131, Part 2 (beating and illegal detention of people); Article 314, Part 2 (abuse of office); Article 200, Part 4 (drug trafficking) and Article 316, Part 3 (exceeding authority).

Since investigators failed to produce evidence to support Samadov’s guilt on the majority of charges, he was discharged on five charges and found guilty only of drug trafficking and exceeding his authority.     

We will recall that Jamshed Samadov was arrested after one of his bodyguards convicted of drug trafficking had testified against him.  

The Supreme Court started trial of Jamshed Samadov’s case on April 6, 2006 .