DUSHANBE, January 18, Asia-Plus  -- “616 servicemen were convicted in Tajikistan last year,” Sayfullo Giyoyev, chairman of the military board of the Supreme Court, remarked at a news conference in Dushanbe on Friday, noting that 80 of them were granted amnesty.   

According to him, the servicemen were convicted mainly of charges of desertion, bullying fellow conscripts and driving to suicide.

Speaking to journalists, Nusratullo Abdulloyev, Chairman of the Supreme Court, noted that the court last year considered totaling 975 criminal and civil cases, and 95 persons, including 89 men, one woman and five minors, were convicted.  “Eight of them got life term jails, and four others were put on probation,” the Supreme Court head said.    

Last year, the Supreme Court granted amnesty to 41 persons, including 37, 3 minors, 4 women and 4 foreign citizens, Abdulloyev noted.