A native of Tajikistan, Imomali, who attacked 18-year-old Ilya with a knife in the Moscow region, acted in self-defense; he was forced to take a radical step. Imomali's brother revealed details and his version of what happened in an interview with MSK1.RU. Meanwhile, Human Rights Council (HRC) member Eva Merkacheva called for not causing conflicts between ethnicities.
On January 18, Ilya was traveling with friends on a bus. They saw a woman through the window and started showing her obscene signs. Imomali Turdiev, 19 years old, reacted to this and reprimanded the boys. A verbal conflict broke out, after which Imomali asked to go out. During the fight, a 19-year-old Tajik man was sprayed in the eyes with pepper and then shot with a rocket launcher. He pulled out a knife and stabbed one of the attackers multiple times. Turdiev remained on the road, and the bus left with the injured Ilya. It was impossible to save him.
As Safarzhon Turdiev, Imomali's brother, said, he was one of the most conflict-free among the brothers, until recently he was not involved in wrestling or sports. According to Safarzhon, the brother could only use weapons to defend himself. The guy made a comment, and “they came out and started fighting on their own.” It is known that Imomali came to the Moscow region with a friend, he wanted to earn money for his dream and get married.
He is the quietest child in our family. I don't know why all this could happen. Maybe because a certain woman was offended. (…) Perhaps he stood up to protect his sister with faith. I think so. There is no other way. Even if it's an ordinary girl, if he's worthy, he will stand up. He doesn't know how to fight himself Safarjon Turdiev, brother-in-law of Emomali Turdieva
The bus driver left the route and went to the first aid station with the injured person
An ambulance was called to the scene but in order not to waste time, the bus driver let all the other passengers off and took the injured person to the hospital himself. Imomali escaped but was quickly captured. It was clarified that the driver called 112 and they urgently tried to take Ilya to the doctor by bus.
“Considering the threat to the victim's life, the decision was made to end the flight and take the passengers to an emergency medical center,” the Mostransavto press service reported.
They couldn't save the 18-year-old boy. Imomali Turdiev now faces up to 15 years in prison.
HRC urged not to stir up ethnic conflicts
HRC member Eva Merkacheva said that in the story of the death of an 18-year-old Russian man in Elektrostal, there is no need to further inflame inter-ethnic conflicts. The human rights activist shared his views in a conversation with Lenta.ru.
“It is important that the young man was carrying a knife when traveling on public transport. That is, he was initially ready to use it “occasionally”. Does this mean that the ethnic situation in a particular area is very tense? Perhaps,” Merkacheva said.
On the contrary, a member of the Human Rights Council, editor-in-chief of the publication Regnum, Marina Akhmedova, said that the massacre of a young man caused fear when traveling on public transport. She was also skeptical about Imomali's decision to join the fight.
“Guys seem like you can't approach them and make comments. And they don't behave in a way that one might think they could be reprimanded without consequences to themselves,” she notes.
