Tajik Airport Workers Fired After Incident With Latvian Musicians

The Latvian musical group Baraka plays a concert in Khorugh in August.

DUSHANBE -- Several workers at the Dushanbe International Airport have been fired after being accused of extortion by a group of Latvian musicians.

Alisher Nasirov of Tajikistan's State Anticorruption Agency told RFE/RL on December 3 that some airport workers had been reprimanded and others had lost their jobs after investigations were launched into complaints by the leader of the Latvian band Baraka, Dmitry Yevsikov.

Yevsikov complained on his Facebook account in August that airport workers in Dushanbe had extorted money from his group as the musicians were leaving the country.

The group gave concerts in Dushanbe and the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, performing popular songs in Tajik.