In 2021, 24 people addressed the Civil Society Coalition against Torture and Impunity in Tajikistan with a complaint about the use of torture and cruel treatment, of which 5 appeals were from women. This is reported by the Coalition in its activity report for the last year, which is posted on its website.
Applicants complained about such basic human rights violations during the process of detention and investigation as illegal and arbitrary detentions; beating; torture with a stun gun; the threat of rape of the victim or family members; intimidation by detention.
“Torture and cruel treatment were used to obtain confessions, to punish certain actions, or as a measure of restraint and humiliation of personal dignity. Victims were predominantly between 22 and 60 years old. Most of the complaints (21) concerning the use of torture and cruel treatment were received about the Internal Affairs bodies,” the Coalition’s report states.
The Legal Assistance Group (LAG) of the Coalition against Torture (one of the main tasks of which is to determine the extent of the spread of torture and cruel treatment, provide legal assistance to victims of torture and their relatives, and conduct strategic litigation) reported also positive trends in its activities for 2021.
In particular, the report mentions the sensational case of the resident of Tursunzoda Khasan Edgorov, who spent six months in a pre-trial detention center on charges of murder in 2017 and was released after the real killer was caught. He signed a confession, unable to withstand the sophisticated torture in the police department. Lawyers of the LAG joined the case and brought it to the end. On June 17, 2021, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan issued a guilty verdict in a criminal case against former employees of the Internal Affairs bodies of Tajikistan, accused of committing a number of crimes, including torture against the resident of Tursunzoda Khasan Edgorov.
“Azizov Sh. – senior detective of the village police department “Pakhtaobod” in Tursunzoda city, Davlatmurodzoda S. – senior detective of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tursunzoda, Naimov E. – senior detective for especially important cases of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan were found guilty under Article 143 note 1 (“Torture) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment,” the Coalition’s report states.
The LAG also continues the practice of filing claims in courts of various jurisdictions for compensation for moral damage. “In particular, in March 2021, the military court of the garrison of Dushanbe ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan to pay compensation in favor of the widow and children of the resident of Asht Komil Khojanazarov (Coalition case), who committed suicide after being tortured by employees of these departments. The court decision has been executed,” the Coalition reports.
Meanwhile, the Ombudsman of Tajikistan said at a recent press conference that in 2021 they received 15 appeals from citizens on the use of torture and cruel treatment. According to Mukim Ashurov, head of the department for the protection of civil and political rights in the country’s Ombudsman’s Office, all these appeals were sent for verification to the Prosecutor General’s Office, but “not a single fact of alleged torture was confirmed”.
Leave feedback about this