Abdusalom Tukhtasunzoda, the former mayor of Konibodom, has been found guilty of “accepting a bribe” and “fraud” and sentenced to 12 years in prison by the city court.
The verdict was confirmed to Asia-Plus by the city court and the Judicial Board of Sughd province.
However, since the verdict has not yet entered into legal force, details of the case have not been disclosed.
Abdusalom Tukhtasunzoda was dismissed from his post as mayor of Konibodom in January and was arrested in Uzbekistan in early April, after which he was brought back to Tajikistan.
Last week, on April 30, the Konibodom city court found Tukhtasunzoda guilty under two articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 319 – accepting bribe; and Article 247 – fraud.
According to Asia-Plus sources, the verdict was delivered in a closed court session.
The opinion of Tukhtasunzoda himself, his relatives, or his lawyer regarding the verdict is unknown.
Meanwhile, speaking in interview with Asia-Plus, Tukhtasunzoda’s wife said on April 14 that her husband is innocent.
The woman refrained from providing detailed comments, saying only: “My husband could not have committed such actions. This was organized and spread through the media by his enemies.”
However, she did not specify what actions she was referring to and did not clarify what exactly Abdusalom Tukhtasunzoda was being accused of.
Abdusalom Tukhtasunzoda, 50, was appointed acting mayor of Konibodom by a decree of the President of Tajikistan in 2020 and became the official mayor of the city a few months later.
He held this position until January 2025.
According to Asia-Plus sources, several other former high-ranking officials of Konibodom were arrested along with Tukhtasunzoda. However, the specific charges against them are unknown.
The authorities have not provided any official information on this matter.
It is only known that all of them were detained following a visit by a special group investigating a series of high-profile and mysterious murders in Konibodom that occurred last year.
As a result of these murders, which took place between March and December 2024, 23 people from 7 families were killed. On December 21, 2024, the Prosecutor General's Office of Tajikistan announced that the crimes had been solved and four suspects were arrested.