Tajik Leader’s Daughter Supports Mother of Slain Boy

Ozoda Rahmon, daughter of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and head of the President’s Executive Office, has provided 300,000 somonis (about $30,000) in financial aid to Niloufar Safoyeva, mother of 10-year-old Qobiljon Aliyev, who was fatally attacked in a xenophobia-related incident at a school in Moscow.

The donation was described as an act of solidarity, compassion, and affirmation of human values, The Caspian Post reports via Tajik media.

Previously, the Tajik government gifted Safoyeva a house, officially provided on behalf of the state. Local entrepreneur Umar Alimatov has also pledged to provide her with a job paying 10,000 somonis per month (around $1,000).

Qobiljon Aliyev was attacked on December 16 by a 15-year-old Russian citizen motivated by ethnic hatred. The boy was stabbed to death after the attacker questioned children and teachers about their nationality and assaulted a security guard with pepper spray. The perpetrator, identified as Timofey K., has been arrested and placed in pre-trial detention for two months. Russian authorities have opened a criminal case for murder and attempted murder.

The boy’s body was returned to Tajikistan on December 18 and buried in Adjami village, Shahrinav district.

Tajik officials have demanded a prompt, objective, and impartial investigation into the murder. The foreign ministry called it a crime motivated by national hatred and summoned the Russian ambassador to Tajikistan to ensure justice is served. President Rahmon raised the case with Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 22, who described the attack as a terrorist act and promised that those responsible will be punished.