Asia-Plus: Умер Шахбол Мирзоев солдат покалечен 7 лет назад

Asia-Plus (Russian edition), 1 February 2021. The article reports the death of Shakhbol Mirzoev (Шахбол Мирзоев), a soldier of Tajikistan’s Border Service who had been left disabled seven years earlier while serving in the army. According to the article, his relatives told Asia-Plus that he had been admitted to the regional hospital in Khujand (Худжанд), Sughd region, where he died after six days in intensive care. The article reports that the cause of death was not yet known, but in the preceding week he had shown signs of pneumonia. His body was taken to his native Asht district (Аштский район), with burial planned in Khishtkhona village (село Хиштхона), Pongoz jamoat. The article describes his case as one of the highest-profile instances of so-called “dedovshchina” (hazing) in the Tajik army. It reports that Mirzoev, a serviceman of a GKNB border unit stationed in Rudaki district (район Рудаки), was injured in March 2014 by fellow serviceman Usmonali Gayratov (Усмонали Гайратов); doctors diagnosed a fracture of the fifth vertebra, damage to the spinal cord and several organs, and dysfunction of the hip joints with blockage of urinary tracts. The article reports that over five years he underwent surgery and treatment first in Tajik hospitals and then in Russia, with his parents selling their home and car to pay for treatment in the Moscow region, and that his last treatment was in a Khujand hospital. The article cites court records showing that medic Usmonali Gayratov was sentenced in 2014 to 9 years in prison and, after two amnesties, had less than 3 years remaining. The article reports that a December 2014 civil suit sought 97,265 somoni in material damages and 180,000 somoni in moral damages; on 22 November 2016 the military court of Dushanbe garrison ordered the GKNB Border Service administration to pay 36,000 somoni in material and 4,000 somoni in moral damages. The article refers to a 2019 Skype conversation in which Mirzoev said he had a chance to walk again but no money for further treatment.