Uzbekistan: the bullying of prisoners still continues

The ACCA has received information about the disastrous situation of prisoners in colonies located in the regions of the country. The journalist of our portal managed to talk with Dzhanibek Fayziev, whose situation is similar to many cases of bullying in penitentiary institutions.

Since 2019, he has been serving his term in the colony No. 29 (Jizakh region), worked at the construction of the presidential school. On February 16 or 17, an employee of the colony, Major Sherzod Kabylov, tried to force the prisoner to steal and load tiles from the construction facility. Dzhanibek refused to steal, which caused the officer’s anger. The next morning, Kabylov began to threaten him.

Then he was denied permission to go to work. This means that the prisoner will not be able to buy food for his meager earnings and is doomed to a forced hunger strike. During a conversation with a journalist, he said that he “had not eaten for several days”. In addition, Kabylov constantly humiliates ethnic Tajik Dzhanibek, insulting him on ethnic grounds.

His friend recently went at large and helped to send Dzhanibek’s complaint to the President’s virtual reception room, which was then forwarded to the Main Directorate for the Execution of Punishments under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The inspector, who arrived, didn’t find any violations. At the same time, since February 27, Major Kabylov refused to let him go to work.

“He swears all the time,” Dzhanibek says. “And all the time he repeats that you won’t go to work, rude Tajik…”

According to the prisoner, there are 115 people in the colony, half of them are now starving due to lack of work.

On March 5, members of the volunteer group “Open line” tried to get to a previously announced appointment with the new head of the Main Directorate for the Execution of Punishments, Rustam Tursunov, concerning the complaints from prisoners.

In colony No. 33 (Kashkadarya region), convicts are sent to the fields of farmers to collect stones and weed thorns. The last time they were paid for a month of work from 20 to 30 thousand sums (10,477 sums = $ 1); one of them was payed 7,000 sums. The medical unit of this colony ignores Zhobir Avlyakulov’s requests to be released from work after poisoning. “They reply to his complaints so that he should give up his Turkmen manners. What has nationality to do with it?” Tatyana Dovlatova, leader of the Open line, is indignant during the interview with an ACCA journalist.

For a month now, relatives have not been able to contact the seriously ill Andrey Kelerman from the colony-settlement No. 38 (Samarkand region).

“For his constant complaints and requests to the virtual reception room of the President, the administration of the colony put him in a punishment cell, then sent him to a mental hospital. From there he could hardly contact me. We suspect that he has now been sent to the prison,” explains the human rights activist.

In the last year’s message to the Oliy Majlis [Senate], the President Mirziyoev has assured that “the work will continue on the widespread implementation of the principle of humanism in the system of punishment execution.” Tatyana Dovlatova notes that officials don’t react in any way to his citing the President’s words.