Uzbekistan: Authorities cover up deaths of prisoners
The Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan spread information about the death of two prisoners. The prisoner Nazirjon Abdullayev told human rights activists about this.
On November 29, 2021, in one of the premises where 42 people were staying, there was a gas explosion, the victims of which were Jahon and Batyr (surnames unknown). Nazirjon worked under a contract at the flour mill “Uz Null Ltd” and lived on the territory of this enterprise in Sergeli district of Tashkent, where the barracks are located.
In the program of one of the Uzbek TV channels, they concealed the fact that prisoners died from this explosion. Nazirjon Abdullayev and his comrades in misfortune were burned and injured. They are in grave condition at the hospital No.16 in Tashkent. All their belongings, clothes, food, money were burned. 15 of them received burns of varying degrees. Before the explosion, the prisoners of the barracks complained about the pungent smell of gas, but none of the authorities reacted to their complaints.
“Even after the explosion and burns, the administration of the enterprise refused to help the prisoners,” says Elena Urlaeva, leader of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan. The Department of Execution of Punishments under the Ministry of Internal Affairs distanced itself from the tragedy. “No one is interested in the life and health of political and religious prisoners; they are just pawns,” concludes the human rights activist.
After a burn of the skin and eyes, N. Abdullayev’s state of health deteriorated sharply; urological diseases worsened. Now he needs special treatment, as he can become blind. Eight months remained before his release, he was imprisoned for eight years in colony No.47 in the city of Kyzyl-Tepa (Navoi region)
The Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA, France) previously reported that ten prisoners from this colony were placed in a punishment cell on September 29, 2019. They were punished for applying to the colony administration with a request to give them new gloves and shoes for loading and unloading hot bricks from kilns; they all work in a brick production. The deputy head of the colony for the regime reacted to their request extremely harshly; he personally beat the prisoners with a truncheon on the heels and other parts of the body.
