Ombudsman of Tajikistan: not a single fact of torture has been confirmed

“In 2021, the Ombudsman’s office of Tajikistan received 15 appeals from citizens on the use of torture and cruel treatment,” Mukim Ashurov, head of the Department for the protection of civil and political rights in the Ombudsman’s office of the country, said at a press conference on February 3.

According to him, all these appeals were sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office for verification, but not a single fact of alleged torture was confirmed.

“In addition, five complaints about alleged torture in places of deprivation of liberty were considered on the ground. Our employees visited the prisons and met with the prisoners mentioned in the complaints. However, the facts of torture were not confirmed,” said a representative of the Ombudsman’s office.

Meanwhile, last December, Human Rights Watch published its latest annual report on the human rights situation, which noted that poor conditions and torture in Tajik prisons continue to occur, that prisons are overcrowded, and that prisoners are often mistreated.

The Ombudsman of Tajikistan Umed Bobozoda considers this assessment to be biased and prejudiced. “The human rights situation in the country has improved over the past year compared to previous years. My conclusions are based on 33 monitorings, 27 inspections and 10 visits to places of detention, pre-trial detention centers and military units in 2021,” he emphasized.