Uzbekistan: resident of Andijan died after torture by police officers
On June 11, after torture, the resident of Andijan, Alijon Abdukarimov, died without regaining consciousness. After unlawful detention on the evening of May 29, three officers tortured him at the police station. The investigation established that “the employees of the criminal investigation department have used violence that was dangerous to health and life”.
In the commentary under the publication about the tragedy, there is a different vision of what happened, “The guy was simply beaten to death! They started to beat him at home, and the cops arrived in a car without plate numbers. His relatives went to all the police stations; the answer was the same, “He is not here.” However, they had the photo of the car and proved that the car was on their territory, which means he was there. When they were allowed to enter with a scandal, they saw that he was lying and they threw cold water on him from a bucket. Relatives took him to the hospital.”
As a result of the internal audit, it turned out that a certain “citizen A. Sotvoldiev appealed to the internal affairs bodies with a statement to take legal measures against A. Abdukarimov, who didn’t return his precious stone”. The employees didn’t act according to the law, but simply went to Abdukarimov’s house, where they started a brawl and, threatening his relatives, took him to the police department by force.
The investigation of the Parliament’s Defense and Security Committee notes that “the victim was illegally detained until 6:00 on May 30 and seriously damaged his health, as well as his rights and legitimate interests.”
The investigation has been launched after a video from the hospital, made by the sister of the tortured resident of Andijan, was published on a social network. She felt ashamed to show injuries in the groin, but traces of torture from head to toe were clearly visible.
According to ACCA’s information, Alijon opened his eyes in the morning of June 11, and the doctors began intensive therapy, but by 7 p.m., resuscitation didn’t help. Late at night, the body was handed over to relatives, and on June 12 at 7 a.m., Alijon was buried without examination. Representatives of the internal affairs bodies for more than a day persuaded his relatives not to make noise and tried to hide the fact of violence, but the news of it quickly spread among the townspeople. The sister of the deceased also began to write and call different authorities.
One of the knowledgeable users wrote a post on the net that “the Department of Internal Affairs gave its catafalque for a funeral. And the big bosses sit at the house of Alijon, trying to persuade the family not to make a complaint.
The press service of the upper house of the Parliament hastened to publish the statement summing up the investigation. “The employees of the criminal investigation department of the police department of Andijan – F. Khusanboev, E. Rayizhanov and K. Kadirov, accused of torturing a resident, as well as the heads of the police department of Andijan and the Department of internal affairs No.4 were relieved of their posts,” the statement said. “Another 19 managers and employees are brought to disciplinary action. The Senate Committee revealed the details of the case and strongly condemned the actions of the staff.”
“It is clear that parliamentarians tried to save face, but it turned out badly,” the ACCA expert analyzes. “In their own text it is said that the security forces of Andijan were checked on May 25, this was a few days before, in fact, a gang raid. The abuses in the internal affairs bodies caused them concern, and they refused to professionalize to the head of the Department for the Coordination of Activities, Lt. Col. Sadyk Usmanov, and directly accused him of official inconsistency. It’s quite obvious that the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs neglected the statement, showing the Parliament its worthlessness, defending the honor of the uniform of its officers, who are not afraid of anyone or anything.
It should be noted that in April 2018, the law came into force in which responsibility for the use of torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment was strengthened. Changes in legislation for the use of torture entail punishment for a term of three to five years, with the deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions. If serious bodily harm was caused or other serious consequences occurred, the punishment will be from 7 to 10 years in prison.
Not only the Committee on Defense and Security has shown its inability to influence the power structures under the direct control of the President. The Human Rights Commissioner of Oliy Majlis (the Ombudsman) of Uzbekistan, Ulugbek Muhammadiev, has peculiarly responded to the situation in Andijan, demonstrating his complete helplessness. “Every year we receive over 100 complaints about the use of torture,” said the Ombudsman. “We send them to the relevant law enforcement agencies, because we don’t have the power to go there and conduct interrogations. In addition, there is no such opportunity and specialists who could do this. The specialists in this field should work, conduct expertise and do other necessary procedures.”
Earlier, ACCA wrote about the establishment of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Uzbekistan. Deputy Prosecutor General, Svetlana Artykova, informed about its creation at the online briefing. In her speech, she explained this by assessing the situation of torture, which “causes well-founded public concern” and is negatively assessed in international ratings and indicators.
“When Alijon was killed on May 29, Ms. Artykova talked a lot about a bright future without torture and fair laws. However, all her fiery speeches, both at the current post and in the chair of the Senate Vice-chairman of Oliy Majlis, don’t break the punitive system and didn’t save the life of the resident of Andijan, whose unborn child in June became a victim,” said the ACCA expert.
