Tajik Prosecutor General’s office refused to open a case of torture of a lawyer
“The Prosecutor General’s office of Tajikistan refused to initiate criminal proceedings on the facts of torture specified in the statement of the young lawyer Abdulaziz Abdurahmonzoda,” reports the NGO “Independent Center for the protection of human rights”.
Saidbek Nuriddinov, chairman of the Union of lawyers of the Republic of Tajikistan and at the same time the lawyer of the victim, Abdulaziz Abdurahmonzoda, told human rights activists that on August 9 of this year, a group of lawyers representing the interests of Abdurahmonzoda appealed to the Sino District Court with a request to refer the case to the General Prosecutor’s office for investigation of the torture and cruel treatment.
“The other day, the Prosecutor General’s office refused to institute criminal proceedings on the facts of torture (Article 143, note 1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan), the materials were returned to the Sino district court for further examination on the merits,” Saidbek Nuriddinov said.
Recall, on July 22, the court of Sino metropolitan area decided to suspend the trial by sending the case file to the Prosecutor’s office in Dushanbe for investigation on the statement of Abdulaziz Abdurahmonzoda about the use of torture. However, on August 5, the Dushanbe city Prosecutor’s office refused to institute criminal proceedings under the article “torture” due to the lack of evidence.
In connection with the use of torture and cruel treatment, Abdulaziz Abdurahmonzoda applied for legal assistance to the NGO “Independent Center for the protection of human rights”.
Meanwhile, Saidbek Nuriddinov noted that on August 30, statements were sent to the Prosecutor General, the heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Committee for National Security and the Agency for State Financial control and the fight against corruption, demanding that the lawyer and his client be protected.
“Nobody reacted to this statement, except for the Minister of Internal Affairs, who said that all appropriate measures were taken and the situation is under control,” summing up the conversation, Saidbek Nuriddinov emphasized.
Recall that on April 9, 2019, near the building of the district court of Varzob, Saidmurod Saidov turned to the lawyer Abdulaziz Abdurahmonzoda to provide legal assistance in a civil case for damages. A week later, when the client brought the lawyer $500, 20-25 people burst into the office; they introduced themselves as operative officers of the Tajik Financial Control and Anti-Corruption Agency.
The lawyer was severely beaten, they broke his tooth, and after they forced him to write a statement that the amount of $500 was intended for subsequent transfer to the court officer Shahzod Nuralizoda. After that, the employees of the Anti-Corruption Department forced the lawyer to throw money at the judge’s desk. However, when the operation failed, a criminal case of fraud was brought against the lawyer Abdurahmonzoda.
