Liquidation of the colony “Zhaslyk” in Uzbekistan
The decision to close the colony was signed by President Mirziyoyev, thereby closing another ugly page in the modern history of Uzbekistan.
The decision to liquidate the specialized colony for the execution of punishment No.19 (the common people called it the prison in Zhaslyk) in the official statement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was immediately called historical. The authorities, after the fact, recognized the existence of a concentration camp for state enemies convicted of terrorist activities and belonging to banned organizations. The word “Zhaslyk” terrifies the inhabitants of the country, popular rumor quickly spreads information about atrocities, and human rights organizations for almost two decades have been hard pressed to obtain evidence of bullying and torture.
The year the colony was founded is called 1999, when, after the attacks in Uzbekistan, the authorities decided to build it in a deserted place. The temperature in winter could well reach -30, and in the summer +60. In these extreme conditions, truly medieval torture was used. Perhaps soon there will be more information. As far back as 2002, human rights activists learned that two tortured prisoners had extensive body burns before their death. This could only happen if a person was dipped in boiling water.
In 2006, human rights activist Azam Farmonov was sentenced to 9 years in prison, allegedly for extorting less than $300. When the term of imprisonment was coming to an end, the prison authorities succeeded in extending the term by another 5 years for disobeying the requirements of the administration.
“When the expectation of freedom changes into hopelessness, when you realize that you will never see loved ones, this is the worst torture,” said Uzbek human rights activist Tatyana Dovlatova in a conversation with an ACCA correspondent.
The 2011 HRW report contains a list of sadistic tools of Uzbek jailers: beating with rubber truncheons and plastic bottles of water, electric shocks, hanging by the wrists and ankles, rape and sexual humiliation, causing suffocation with a plastic bag and gas mask, the threat of physical harm to relatives. Particularly sophisticated were the methods of tormentors for political and “religious” prisoners.
So, the image of the authorities has become one less spot, the resolution takes a month to completely liquidate the colony. It is unclear what is next. The resolution said that buildings, structures and other property are transferred to the Nukus pre-trial detention center which is the capital of Karakalpakstan. Therefore, for the president of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, Nadejda Atayeva, the news of the colony’s closure raised a question: is it a fact or a just renaming?
She is convinced that Shavkat Mirziyoyev is obliged, as a guarantor of rights and freedoms in the country, to immediately demonstrate to the Uzbek people and the international community their readiness to achieve the complete liquidation of the colony, as a guarantee that such crimes will no longer continue. The President is obliged to recognize that the practice of torture still exists and, in her opinion, it is necessary to create a National Commission to investigate the brutal crimes of law enforcement officials and their involvement in the torture and killings of prisoners, bring them to justice and ensure an open trial.
The time of the appearance of the decision is noteworthy. It was not accidental that it was signed by Mirziyoyev after the unrest in three regions of Uzbekistan related to the illegal demolition of commercial and residential real estate. It is likely that the president took this step in an attempt to “block” the negative background from the actions of his officials in the face of the international community. At a recent meeting, he said to the guilty leaders of the regions “You dishonor Uzbekistan to the whole world …”. Nothing prevented him from announcing the liquidation of the colony during the visit in 2017 by Ahmad Shahid who is the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or convictions. And certainly it could have been done in May after the US State Department’s calls to close the colony, before the abnormally long months of heat in the country and foreign visits, since he is so scrupulous about his public image.
Former political prisoner Agzam Turgunov spent 10 years in prison and does not hide his concern about maintaining the status of the colony in one capacity or another.
Human rights activist Nadejda Atayeva also has more and more questions. Is Shavkat Mirziyoyev able to take such a step and consistently bring the Zhaslyk to complete liquidation? It is extremely difficult for the government of Uzbekistan to take such a step while Rustam Inoyatov, Zakirjon Almatov and other political criminals of our time remain in power. She does not doubt the need to strip their immunity, which will be the beginning of the eradication of torture and despotism. Without such a step, in her opinion, real justice in the country will not come.
Local media did not begin to analyze the sad pages of the past and confined themselves to the statement of the resolution. The theme “Zhaslyk” is still toxic to Uzbekistan’s media.
