By empty (9/22/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Vladimir Sotirov, head of the United Nations\' Tajikistan Office of Peace-Building, announced on 21 September in Dushanbe that Tajik authorities have released 10 former fighters of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO). The 10 were part of a group of 103 former UTO fighters who Democratic Party leader Mahmadruz Iskandarov said should have been freed in the post-civil-war amnesty. Sotirov said that the 10 were released after the Prosecutor-General\'s Office determined that they had been arrested illegally.
Vladimir Sotirov, head of the United Nations\' Tajikistan Office of Peace-Building, announced on 21 September in Dushanbe that Tajik authorities have released 10 former fighters of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO). The 10 were part of a group of 103 former UTO fighters who Democratic Party leader Mahmadruz Iskandarov said should have been freed in the post-civil-war amnesty. Sotirov said that the 10 were released after the Prosecutor-General\'s Office determined that they had been arrested illegally. He added, \"Another 50 people on the list were never detained at all, according to the Prosecutor-General\'s Office. The rest were arrested for crimes committed after the amnesty.\" The UTO was a key player in the 1992-97 civil war. (Asia Plus-Blitz)