Uzbekistan: Interior Ministry officials convicted of torture and death of detainee

On September 21, the Kashkadarya Regional Court sentenced the employees of the Chirakchi District Internal Affairs Department to various terms of imprisonment. From four to nine years of imprisonment were received by the currently former head of the department of internal affairs No. 4 of the Department for Coordination of Activities, employees of the operational group of the criminal investigation department, and the inspector of prevention.

On January 23, security officials severely beat 32-year-old Yusuf Abdurakhmonov, suspecting of stealing cattle. After several hours of torture, he died, and the police department tried to hide the fact of violence, with the help of the prosecutor’s office of the Kashkadarya region. Here, at first, a criminal case was opened only under the article of the Criminal Code on abuse of power or official powers. After the online reaction and subsequent investigation, the deputy head of the Kashkadarya regional police department, Colonel Samad Turdiev, resigned.

As the ACCA previously wrote, during the court hearing on September 8, the examination announced the conclusions: the blood of the deceased was found on one of the gas masks. The detainee was tortured to obtain a confession and subjected to a particularly sophisticated torture with restriction of breathing. They put a gas mask on Abdurakhmonov and beat him on the heels with a truncheon.

The public outcry forced the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to promptly admit the fatal beatings and not interfere with the new consideration of the case, which already featured the articles of the Criminal Code Intentional grievous bodily injury and Use of torture. These articles were taken into account by the judicial board in its verdict.