Khujand State University building. Photo: khovar.tj
Ayub Usmonzoda, former rector of Khujand State University named after Academician Bobojon Gafurov, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for accepting a large bribe from a public official. The ruling was issued on June 26, according to Asia-Plus, citing court officials from Tajikistan’s Sughd Region.
Usmonzoda was convicted under Part 4 of Article 319 of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code. The court did not disclose the amount involved or whether the defendant admitted guilt. There has also been no public response from his legal team or family.
Usmonzoda was detained on March 11. At the time, his wife maintained that he was innocent and expressed hope that the trial would “reveal the truth.”
His arrest came shortly after the detention of Parviz Ruzizoda, dean of the university’s Faculty of Biology and Chemistry. There is no official confirmation of a link between the two cases.
Sources familiar with the proceedings said the prosecutor requested a 17-year sentence for Ruzizoda on charges of bribery and sexual assault. The court granted the request, but Ruzizoda reportedly suffered heart failure and died on June 13, shortly after the verdict.
This is not the only corruption case involving university staff. In February, the head of the Sughd office of the Agency for State Financial Control and Anti-Corruption, Safar Salimzoda, called the university a “corrupt institution,” citing at least 49 recorded offenses. Criminal cases were opened against five employees, but verdicts in those cases have not yet been reported.
