Khatlon regional court sentences man to life in prison for murder of two women and child in Kulob

A court in Tajikistan's Khatlon province has handed down a life sentence to Vali Safarali, 32, for the brutal murders of two women and a young child in the city of Kulob. The Khatlon Regional Court found Safarali guilty under multiple subparagraphs of Article 104 of Tajikistan's Criminal Code, related to murder, and sentenced him to life imprisonment in a special-regime colony.

The victims were identified as Zuhro Qurbonova, 28, her relative Tahmina Shohmahmad, 20, and six-year-old Abubakr Qurbonov. The killings, which occurred on the night of April 2, sparked widespread public outrage across the country. During the trial, ten witnesses were questioned, and the case was presided over by Judge Ayubjon Sharifzoda.

According to the investigation, Safarali, who worked as a flour distributor, had been in conflict with his wife, Zuhro Qurbonova. She had reportedly returned to her parents' home in Kulob with their two children following a dispute in December. On the night of the attack, Safarali allegedly entered his wife's parents' home and fatally stabbed Tahmina Shohmahmad and the child, Abubakr Qurbonov, who were sleeping. He then attacked his wife, who was in another room with the two children; the children were unharmed. The motive behind the killings of Shohmahmad and the child remains unclear to investigators.