Uzbekistan Jails Three Women For Spying For Tajikistan

November 05, 2012

by RFE/RL

Uzbek officials have announced that three women from the southeastern region of Surhondaryo have been jailed for spying for neighboring Tajikistan.

A televised statement on November 5 said the three women had received between 14 and 15 years in jail.

Investigators say two of the women are Uzbek citizens and the third is a Tajik-born woman without any citizenship.

Investigators say they received payments from the Tajik secret services for information about Uzbek military and law-enforcement buildings.

No other information has been made public.

Uzbek-Tajik relations have been strained for years due to disputes over water and energy resources as well as transit routes.

Tashkent has cut electricity and natural-gas supplies and closing road and railway connections between the two countries in recent years.

With reporting by Interfax

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/uzbekistan-jails-three-tajik-spies/24760880.html

Copyright (c) 2012. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.