Tajik President's Former Guard Gets Life For Coup Plot
August 12, 2006
General Ghaffor Mirzoev (file photo) (RFE/RL)
His lawyer, Abdukayum Yusupov, said that his client did not plead guilty to any of the charges, which included sedition and murder, and will appeal the court's decision. The sentence was passed on August 11.
Mirzoyev commanded the presidential guard between 1995 until his dismissal in 2004. He was also the head of the country's counternarcotics agency.
Fifteen military officers have already received sentences, ranging from five to 16 years, for their role in the alleged coup plot in January 2004.