February 27, 2006 - The International Sephardic Leadership Council was first notified of this murder at a meeting with the rabbis of the Bukharian community in New York. The Bukharian chief rabbi advised us of this news on Sunday (02-26-06), it was released in the media tonight. Our official comment/response follows:

"The destruction of the Tajikistan synagogue last week was the most disgraceful act committed by a sovereign state toward its Jewish population since the end of WWII. Now, a suspicious murder of the leader of the sister Jewish community, only 4 hours away, raises concern that the Jews may be being targeted. We have heard, through official channels, that Iran may be involved with stirring up trouble in the region, and to that extent, we hope a full and fair investigation will be opened."

BREAKING NEWS - Uzbekistan Jewish leader murdered

Monday Feb. 27, 2006 1730 / Tuesday Feb. 28, 2006 0030 Jerusalem

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan - The leader of the Tashkent Jewish community, 33-year old Avraham Hakohen Yagudayev, who was found severely injured in a road near the Synagogue in Tashkent on February 22nd, died last week in a local hospital. It is unclear how he sustained his injuries.

The President of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS and President of the World Congress of Bukharian Jews, Lev Leviev, has called on the Uzbek authorities to launch a detailed investigation into the incident, to determine the cause of death and whether this was an anti-Semitic attack.

Lev Leviev issued the following statement:

"We are deeply pained by the tragic loss of Avraham ben Matityahu Hakohen Yagudayev. Avraham Yagudayev, a father of four, served as Chairman of the Bukharian Jewish Community in Tashkent for the last four years and was widely respected by all local Jews for his efforts in making Tashkent a better place for Jews to live in. This is a great loss and sadness for everyone in the Jewish community in Uzbekistan and the worldwide Bukharian Jewish community. We do not know yet if this incident was an act of fate or was premeditated murder. Neither do we know whether it was motivated by anti-Semitism. We appeal to the Uzbek authorities to make a full investigation a top priority and bring the perpetrators to justice."

The Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS expresses its deep condolences to the family of Avraham Yagudayev and has established a special fund to help his family.

Above news source: Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS http://www.fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?AID=363604

Tashkent Rabbi Murdered by Anti-Semites

(IsraelNN.com) A leader of the Tashkent Jewish community in Uzbekistan, Rabbi Avraham Yugudayev HaCohen, was murdered last Tuesday on his way to the synagogue in Tashkent.

The Rabbi’s wife notified police when her husband failed to return from the synagogue. Shortly afterwards friends found him lying mortally wounded on the street near where the synagogue is located. Rabbi HaCohen, 35, died of his wounds after being evacuated to the hospital.

The local police suspect a criminal motive, but the local Jewish community is convinced that anti-Semites are behind the murder, because the Rabbi was not robbed of his possessions.

Above news source: Arutz Sheva http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=99273

Uzbek Jewish leader dies

Jewish officials in the former Soviet Union appealed to Uzbek authorities to investigate the death of the Central Asian country’s Jewish leader. Rabbi Avraham Yagudayev, 33, died Saturday of injuries he received two days earlier in what the authorities have described as a road accident. Yagudayev was found unconscious and severely injured on a road near his synagogue, but the circumstances of the tragedy remain unknown, local Jewish leaders say. Yagudayev was a leader of the Bukharian Jewish community of Uzbekistan and chairman of the synagogue in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent. The Federation of Jewish Communities of the Former Soviet Union called on the authorities to determine whether Yagudayev was a victim of an anti-Semitic attack.

Above news source: JTA http://jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=1537

May the family and community of Avraham ben Matityahu Hakohen Yagudayev z"l be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.