The ACCA’s editorial office received the letter from Dilbar Tashmukhamedova. She wrote about the abuse of her son Sarvar in the penal colony No.7. On May 10, he managed to call his mother and talk about the unbearable conditions of detention in this colony of Tashkent.
According to him, the prisoners respond to the inhuman attitude of the administration with opening veins. To ensure law and order, in their understanding, colony officers use regular beating and transfer to a punishment cell on every unimportant occasion.
The woman told the ACCA’s journalist that she had previously reported to the SPS’ officers about the head of the colony No.7, Batyr Yakubzhonov, who had raped a prisoner with a baton at his former workplace (in colony No.48). The department demanded evidence. “How can I prove this if relatives and human rights activists, who are trustworthy, are not allowed into the audit commissions?” asked Dilbar.
According to her, all her letters about bullying had formal replies from the Prosecutor’s office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the conventional phrase that “the facts have not been confirmed”.
The ACCA’s journalist also became aware of the overcrowding in the punishment cells during the days of May and forced labor of prisoners at the manufacture of bricks in the colony No.5 in Navoi. Prisoners are fed only twice a day. The administration of the colony explains the poor food by the quarantine regime.
On May 11, it became known about the attempted rape of the prisoner Stella Aganova in a free settlement by a regime officer of the colony No.42, Sayd (his last name is unknown), in Tashkent region. The victim of the attack works at a mask-making workshop. Sayd openly said about his lust, threatening to send her to the isolation ward in case of refusal and then she would not see either a pardon or parole.
Stella managed to get in touch with her husband Alexander Aganov, who, through acquaintances, was able to inform the staff of the department of their own security about the SPS’ lustful officer. When Sayd undressed to his underwear and knocked down the prisoner, the operatives prevented the process of violence.
On May 12, Sayd continued his service. They only took his identity card from him. No criminal proceedings were instituted. The deputy head of the colony, Jamshid Hakimhodzhaev, begs Stella to repudiate her statement. They exert moral pressure on her, declaring that it was her fault, since she agreed to come to the “regime officer”. There is an opportunity to hush up this case, despite the testimonial evidence of the officers of the department of their own security and the fixation of criminal intentions.
Human rights activists of Uzbekistan have repeatedly called on the authorities to ensure monitoring of the penitentiary system with the participation of independent civil society activists. It was proposed to do visiting days for meetings of prisoners with human rights defenders and representatives of international human rights organizations.
In response to statements of human rights defenders, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General’s office issue open press releases, prior to the investigation, with full denial of torture of prisoners.
According to the Association “Human Rights in Central Asia” (France), information about the number of prisoners and the costs of their maintenance in Uzbekistan remains classified and is not included in the main statistics. The Main Department for the execution of sentences is still subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan. At the same time, the operatives of the State Security Service have resumed the control in the colonies.
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