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Fight against Islamic state

First Tajik woman gets prison term for mercenary activities

According to investigators, Zarina Sardarova illegally crossed the Turkish-Syrian border last January and took part in the fighting for eight months joining the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group

DUSHANBE, February 25. /TASS/. A woman in Tajikistan has been convicted for the first time under the "mercenary activities" article. A district court in Dushanbe sentenced the city’s resident Zarina Sardorova, 34, to 13 years in prison, a source in the court’s secretariat told TASS on Thursday, adding that the verdict could be appealed within seven days.

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According to investigators, Zarina Sardarova illegally crossed the Turkish-Syrian border last January and took part in the fighting for eight months joining the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group (outlawed in Russia). The woman was arrested by law enforcers in October at Dushanbe’s international airport upon arrival from Turkey.

The case files indicate that Sardarova opened her page in a social network under an assumed name where she posted her photos with an automatic rifle urging her fellow countrymen to join the "jihad."

According to the Tajik special services, more than 1,000 Tajiks, among them several dozen women and teenagers, are taking part in the fighting in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Tajikistan Fight against terrorism Islamic State

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