Two residents of Dushanbe have been jailed for attempting to enter a foreign state to engage in hostile activities.

A court in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district sentenced Najmiddin Khojabdulloyev and Rivojiddin Bobokhonov to six years each in jail.  They will serve their terms in a high-security penal colony.

They were reportedly attempting to join the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Syria but were detained in foreign countries.      

According to the Prosecutor-General’s Office, Najmiddin Khojabdulloyev was detained by Turkish security officers in the Turkish city of Gaziantep while trying to illegally cross the Turkish-Syrian border.  

Rivojiddin Bobokhonov was detained by Russian security forces in Moscow before boarding the Moscow-Baku-Istanbul flight.