In the colonies of Uzbekistan, officers continue to beat prisoners
In the colony for the execution of punishment No.7 of Bostanlyk district of Tashkent region, human rights activists recorded new facts of beatings of prisoners. This is reported to them by relatives of the victims.
On September 30, Dilbar Tashmukhammedova, having come to the colony to meet with her son, saw signs of torture on his body. “Two weeks ago, two guards started mocking Servar in the morning, knocking him down and beating him all over the body, and in conclusion they hit his head on the iron safe several times,” Dilbar said. “In this way, certain Kabil and Dadahon pacified the newcomer, who was transferred from another colony on September 14, and the next day he was put to execution.”
Dilbar told human rights defenders that for more than three hours, Servar was lying on the floor, having difficulty breathing due to illness. “He was forbidden to use an inhaler. This was possible only after three hours. All this time, the prisoner was lying on the floor,” she notes. “Afraid of responsibility for death, the torturers called a doctor. He came already with a syringe with an unknown medicine. Servar flatly refused the injection, fearing hepatitis or tuberculosis infection. In prisons of Uzbekistan, there is a practice of repeated use of disposable syringes.”
Dilbar managed to talk with other prisoners. It turns out that the guards are not limited to long beatings: they break hands and put their heads into the hole of the closet. She also noted a mocking attitude towards relatives, who had to take a turn early in the morning, but could meet with relatives only in the evening. They don’t give receipts for payment for the meeting room and actually prohibit the use of a free toilet.
According to D. Tashmukhammedova, “the administration revels in its power and impunity. Prisoners are slaves without rights”.
ACCA has already written about mockery of prisoners. In pre-trial detention center No.1, otherwise referred to as Tashturma, mass beatings became usual. The prisoner Sanjar Islamov said this to his wife during a date in prison. At different times of the day, electricity is selectively turned off and masked people burst into the cells of the so-called “youngsters”. They beat with batons young detainees and prisoners with the aim of breaking them physically and mentally. At this time, all surveillance cameras do not work.
After the publication of ACCA, a check was conducted by the authorized representative of Uzbek Parliament for human rights. He did not conduct individual conversations and was seen by prisoners with backgammon in his hands. In order to remove the active complainant from Tashturma, the authorities accelerated the investigative actions and dismissed the alleged sanction from the sick Sanjar by sending him to serve his sentence in colony No.6 of Papsky district (Namangan region).
The truly ambitious Sanjar was able to send a letter from there. In early September, a commission visited the colony with the participation of representative organizations, which within 15 minutes of stay did not reveal any violations. No one spoke to the prisoners. The commission included representatives of the General Prosecutor’s office, the State Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the apparatus of the President and the Senate. “I myself stood in front of them and shouted that I wanted to report crimes,” writes Sanjar. “As soon as they found out that I was Islamov, they quickly left.”
According to ACCA, more than 70 applications to various authorities have been left without consideration for nine months. In the case of Sanjar Islamov, human rights defenders counted eight violations of the law.
Recall that in November 2018, during the interrogation in Tashkent pre-trial detention center, the businessman Dilshod Abdullaev died. The Prosecutor General’s office reported that it was a suicide.
