In Tajikistan, police officers torture and rape women

For a day and a half, officers of the Internal Affairs Department of Vakhsh region brutally mocked and tortured a 24-year-old resident of the district, forcing her to take the blame for theft. After long hours of torture, the young woman was made an injection, that paralyzed her, and she was raped. The Prosecutor General’s office accepted the complaint of the victim, but the case was not instituted. We publish material prepared by the Coalition of civil society against torture and impunity in Tajikistan.

“We met a young woman who was a victim of torture at the office of the Coalition of civil society against torture and impunity in Tajikistan. She comes here for several days, hoping for the help of human rights defenders in bringing perpetrators to justice.

Every time she recalls what happened through tears, although she has repeatedly told in full detail about it to human rights activists and investigators of the Prosecutor General office. It would seem that, after speaking out, some kind of reassurance should come, but for a long time she is trying to pluck up her courage and begin her story. Periodically, her five-year-old daughter comes up to her, hugs and snuggles up to her, but it seems that it makes the young woman unhappier, and she cries even more …

“They even kill here, and then they say that person died himself”

N.B. is a resident of the village of Rudaki (Vakhsh region). She is divorced and lives with her two children of 5 and 3 years old in her parents’ house.

The day or two before the Kurban holiday, officers of the district police department came to their home and detained her older brother Dilshod on suspicion of theft. As it turned out, the theft was committed in the house of their own aunt – father’s sister. After some time, at about noon, the police arrived for N.B. She was detained with her children and younger sister M.B. (10th schoolgirl). Parents followed them.

– When we arrived at the department, I saw my brother there. He said me “Even if they cut off your head, don’t betray me, take all upon yourself. You have two children; you won’t be imprisoned”. I realized that my brother did something again. He had previously been convicted of theft. My children and I were brought to the investigator Abdurahmon Alamurodov. He told me that I was suspected of stealing household appliances from my aunt’s house, that my brother had pointed at me. Of course, I began to deny it. But he began to demand recognition from me. After some time, several more people entered the office, it seems they were operatives. My children were taken out and then it was like in a nightmare,” says N.B.

According to her, at first the investigator began to raise her voice, then to insult her, demanding that she confess to the crime. But even after this, she did not take the blame for the crime that she had not commit. Then the investigator went up to her and ordered her earrings to be removed. When she took them off, he hit her in the face with all his might, and then grabbed her by the hair and hit her head against the wall.

“He beat me and called me “haromi” (dirty). He said that if I do not confess, then he will abuse me,” the woman says.

Then one of the operatives approached her and allowed himself humiliating frivolity, touched different parts of her body and said that she was their guest tonight, and if she did not admit her guilt, then they would do whatever they wanted with her.

“Give her to us tonight, after that she even admits to the murder of Lenin,” he told the investigator.

The young woman does not know the name and surname of this man, but, according to her, he has a scar on his face and she will be able to recognize him.

After a long time of such mockery, these people came out, and she again was left alone with the investigator. He began to threaten her further. Then he locked the door and completely took off his clothes, saying that he would settle all her affairs if she slept with him now. She began to beg him not to do anything bad to her … After that, he dressed and led her to the second floor.

According to her, it was already deep night when they went up to the second floor. Here she was blindfolded, pushing and beating, forced to run fast along a narrow corridor. Not seeing where she was running, she ran into a wall. They shouted at her, beat her and forced her to rise again. At some time, she felt something heavy on her head, in her opinion, it was a bedside table.

“They beat on it, hit all over the body. Then they removed the bedside table and began to beat me on the head with their fists; they grabbed me by the hair and hit my head against the wall. After a while, I fainted,” she says.

According to her, when she came to, she was lying on a couch in the investigator’s office. There was an investigator and an operative with a scar, and then another officer came in.

“It seems that he was the boss, I don’t know, but I can identify them all. He said if I do not confess, then they would connect me to the current. Then he ordered me to be injected and forced to drink some other medicine. After some time, I was paralyzed, I could not move,” the woman says.

The investigator and the man with the scar again began to put pressure on her and threaten her. They told her that if she did not confess, then she would be raped “in all places”. Afraid of violence, Nilufar began to beg him not to touch her.

“They said that I’m their guest and that they can do whatever they want with me, that they can sleep with me, beat, kill… and then they would say that I died, that this happens here sometime… As a result, I agreed to take on myself the blame. For me, the main thing was to break out of this hell,” says N.B.

She continued to be paralyzed. One of the police officers came in, taking advantage of her powerlessness, raped her …

After some time, he returned, trying again to have sexual act with her, but the effect of the drug had already decreased by that time, and she began to resist him. Then he let her go and left …

All these mockeries and abuse with N.B. were almost two days, then she was taken home at about two in the morning. According to the young woman, the investigator himself drove her home and told her on the way that she should not tell anyone about what happened in the department, and he, in turn, would help her with her case.

The next day, despite her difficult physical condition, the woman was again taken to the department. There she was given for signature papers that she signed without reading. According to her, she did not know what she was signing for, but she agreed to sign everything so that torture would not be repeated.

After that, together with her mother, she went to the district hospital, where she did an X-ray of her head and removed the beatings in the district forensic medical examination center. Examination recorded abrasions of various sizes on the woman’s body, including on the inner thighs.

To fully confirm the fact of rape, a biological examination was required, but there is no such possibility in the district forensic medical examination center. Therefore, a vaginal smear was taken from her and kept for further microscopic examination. According to human rights defenders, the Coalition of civil society against torture and impunity in Tajikistan still holds the material in the refrigerator of the region’s forensic medical examination center. It is issued only to investigation authorities after the initiation of proceedings. But after almost two months after the torture of the young woman, the case was not initiated.

They didn’t want to take me for treatment, and they didn’t start a case.

Further rehabilitation of N.B. was provided by the Coalition of civil society against torture and impunity in Tajikistan, where the woman addressed for help. The psychological and physical condition of the woman required outpatient treatment, but medical institutions did not want to take a “problem” patient, doctors were afraid to contact victims of torture.

“At first we went to the private clinic “Ibn Sino”, but they refused to take the patient there, allegedly due to the lack of a neurologist,” said Zulfiya Musaeva, the employee of the Coalition against torture rehabilitation group. “Then we went to Karabolo, but even there she was not immediately received, demanding the referral of expert commission. An expert commission is created in cases of rape in a forensic medical examination center. The commission consists of three people, among whom there should be one woman. Since it was almost 10 p.m., they could not call the commission. Only after long negotiations and personal contacts, they agreed to give us the referral. That is, if there are not personal connections, victims of torture may stay without medical assistance …

For 10 days, the victim of police officers was undergoing rehabilitation in Karabolo. All expenses for her rehabilitation were covered by the Coalition. They also hired a professional psychologist for the victim of violence…

After discharge, the woman appealed to the Prosecutor General’s office with a statement on the adoption of legal measures against the investigator of the police department of Vakhsh district Abdurahmon Alamurodov and other operational officers for torture and cruel treatment.

According to the lawyer, given to the victim by the Civil Society Coalition against torture and impunity in Tajikistan, Zebo Rakhmatova, the crime was filed with the Prosecutor General on August 17, and a preliminary investigation was to be carried out within 7-10 days, after which a criminal case was opened. The woman’s statement and medical examination, which was already on hand, was sufficient evidence.

Having accepted the statement, the investigator of the Prosecutor General’s office took explanatory letters from the woman and her relatives, but after 1.5 months the Prosecutor’s office said that this statement was sent to the Prosecutor’s office of Vakhsh region for investigation. There, in turn, it was attached to the theft case, in which N.B. is the suspect, and sent to court.

“First, as the defender of N.B. for a long time, I could not get the investigator to familiarize with the results of the forensic medical examination that was done here in Dushanbe. When I began to insist on this, he told me that he had sent the case to the Prosecutor’s office of Vakhsh region and all the materials were there. I went there, but it turned out that they hadn’t received the case. Having returned to Dushanbe, I again began to demand from the investigator the results of the examination and pre-investigation check. Then he told me that he would give me a written answer. And so, the other day I received his answer, in which he writes that the statement of my client was sent to the Prosecutor’s office of Vakhsh region and attached to the case file on the fact of the theft,” said the lawyer.

According to her, they intend to write a complaint about the actions of the investigator. First of all, for violation of the procedural deadlines, as well as lawyers intend to separate the torture case into a separate proceeding. According to the lawyer, under the Law, the examination materials must be filed in a separate proceeding, in connection with which a decision is made, and not attached to the materials of the criminal case.

Sister for brother

The Civil Society Coalition against torture and impunity in Tajikistan reported that human rights defenders are now defending N.B. and her younger sister in the theft case in which they are suspects, in particular on the basis of their confessions.

According to N.B., after her younger sister saw her condition, she also signed a confession.

“They also pressed on her, shouting, scaring. And then when she saw my condition, she also signed all the papers. We didn’t do it, we couldn’t climb over the fence and take out so much equipment; many things were stolen there. My aunt also told the investigator that we couldn’t do this, but he didn’t listen to her … When we were in her house with the investigator, the investigator pressed us too, he even waved a folder at my sister and wanted to hit her, but I stood up for her. There he immediately subsided, because there was a lawyer with us; apparently, he was afraid. After that, he took me and my sister home, and asked us not to tell anyone about what happened in the department, and he would help us in this matter for this,” says N.B.

Concerning the circumstances of the theft, she said that a few days before the incident, her brother Dilshod brought a TV to the house and asked her to take it in the house of her neighbor Gulbahor. She did not ask whose television it was and simply carried out her brother’s request. As it turned out, it was one of the things stolen from her aunt.

“Now my brother is also threatening me, demanding to take all the blame, because he once sat in prison for theft and this time he may be given a long term. But how can I take on what I did not do? And what will happen to my children?” says the young woman.

Coalition: “Women hide the facts of torture”.

According to the coordinator of the legal assistance group of the Coalition of civil society against torture and impunity in Tajikistan, Nachiba Shirinbekova, there are many cases of torture and cruel treatment of women in law enforcement agencies, but as a rule, women prefer not to talk about it.

“We now have five complaints from tortured women. These are women who had the courage not only to report torture and cruel treatment, but also who were ready to protect themselves within the legal framework. In reality, there are many more such cases, but women do not say about them, especially the cases of sexual violence. Living in a traditional society, they always think about how the public will react to this, they fear gossip and the attitude of society towards themselves. This is a very serious problem, to which it is necessary to attract attention,” N. Shirinbekova says.

However, according to the human rights activist, even if a woman decides to report torture, there are some problems that she cannot decide without a highly qualified lawyer. First of all, it is very difficult for a woman to prove the status of a victim. For example, in medical institutions she may be denied recording beatings or after accepting her application, it is sent for consideration to the police department she complains about. This approach allows officers, who have used torture, to evade punishment, as the result the case may not be initiated.

Nevertheless, human rights defenders intend to uphold the rights of women victims of torture and violence to the end and restore justice to them. According to them, in the case of N.B. in recent days, there are some positive changes. So there is hope that they will approach her matter with all responsibility. Protection of her rights will become a hope for many victims of violence in the investigating authorities …”