Ozodi: Ҳукми профессори тоҷик ришвагирӣ

The article, published by Radio Ozodi on 11 August 2025 by correspondent Farzon Muhammadi, reports that the Sughd Regional Court issued a high-profile verdict against the rector and a lecturer of Khujand State University. According to Dilovar Mirzohomidzoda, chairman of the Khujand City Court, the first-instance ruling of 26 June sentenced Professor Ayub Usmonzoda, rector of Khujand State University, to 7 years in prison and additionally barred him from working in educational institutions for 5 years. The article reports that the verdict is not yet in force and that the possibility of appellate review remains. Mirzohomidzoda stated that the verdict would acquire legal force only if not appealed through cassation to the regional court. The article reports that the main charge against the rector is receiving a large bribe. The article states it is not disclosed from whom or in what amount the professor took money, but at least one episode is connected with the dean of the faculty of chemistry and biology, Parviz Puladi, whose complaint led to the rector’s detention. The article reports that Puladi himself was sentenced by the same court on 13 June to 17 years in prison on charges of bribery and moral crimes. That verdict also had not entered legal force, and Puladi died under unclear circumstances in the Khujand detention facility. According to relatives, his blood pressure had risen and his heart failed; no official statement from law enforcement was issued. The article reports that the defence lawyers’ position was unknown, but relatives stated they would continue fighting for justice. The article notes that bribery by university teachers in Sughd had been widely discussed in media and social networks, with authorities reporting roughly 50 bribery incidents at Khujand State University in the previous year. The head of the Sughd anti-corruption bureau, in February, described the university as an institution where financial corruption had reached its peak.