Who is responsible for the death of Ikromzoda?

Press Review Media of Tajikistan in October 2012.

In October of this year, the issue of the death in custody of Ikromzoda Hamza, who died in the end of September in Dushanbe colony # 1, was actively discussed by independent media in the country.

In particular, the weekly “Samak” (№ 40 dated from October 1, 2012) published the article “Who is responsible for the death of Ikromzoda?”, which mostly used clips from other media. Author of the article refers to the publications of “Ozodi”, TojNews and “Asia-Plus” news agencies, as well as quotes the opinion of Ikromzoda’s relatives that contradicts the official version of suicide. It was reported that Hamza Ikromzoda died as a result of torture and ill-treatment.

The newspaper “Nigoh” (№ 28 dated from October 3, 2012) published the article “Questions about the death of a prisoner”.  The author writes: “The relatives of H. Ikromzoda reported that the authority is aware who from their staff members are involved in his death, but hides it".

The same issue was explored by weekly “Faraj” (№ 40, from October 3, 2012), which quotes the Minister of Justice Rustam Menglieva. “The Minister of Justice Rustam Mengliev, which we managed to catch after the another meeting of the lower chamber of the Parliament, in a brief conversation with journalists informed that the country's authorities are against torture and shall take all measures to prevent such cases. He promised that the case will be thoroughly investigated and the guilty will be punished to the full extent of the law. "

On October 5, virtually all private electronic media published an appeal of the NGO Coalition against torture in Tajikistan to the President of the country, where they expressed serious concerns about the use of torture in prisons and proposed a number of urgent steps to eradicate torture in the country.

The appeal notes that only for the first 10 months of 2012, the Coalition has registered 18 cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. “Unfortunately, there are many cases of those who have died as a result of torture, did not live up to even 30 and 40 anniversaries”, - says the statement of human rights defenders.

International human rights organization Amnesty International has also reacted to the news about the death in custody. On October 6, on the websites of Radio “Ozodi”, “Asia-Plus” and other news agencies the statement of the organization was published, which calls for prosecution of the persons responsible in the death of Ikromzoda.

The statement also noted that Amnesty International has gathered reliable information about dozens of people, victims of torture and ill-treatment who suffered from the actions of the officials, which deeply affected their lives and those of their relatives.

“Some of these people have died as a result of torture and ill-treatment, but their families are still waiting for the truth, which should be made public, and they are waiting for the perpetrators held accountable. Others were imprisoned as a result of unfair trials, which used confessions obtained under torture. Officials often intimidate and harass people for what they dared to speak out about how the security forces had treated them or their relatives. Thus , they were silenced, "- says the statement. According to Amnesty International researches “torture and ill-treatment is widespread in Tajikistan”.

A few days later, on October 9, the website of “Asia-Plus” published information with reference to the sister of the deceased inmate Dilhoh Ikromzoda that the President of Tajikistan took control over the investigation into the death of Hamza Ikromzoda. According to her, on September 25, her father Faisaly Ikromov wrote a letter to the President Emomali Rahmon, in which he asked him to assist in a thorough investigation of the causes of his son’s death.  "In his reply, President Emomali Rahmon has notified us that he was aware of the incident and took the case under his personal control” - said Dilhoh Ikromzoda.

On October 13, the same website “Asia-Plus” reported that the family of Hamza Ikromzoda was received by the Prosecutor General Sherkhon Salimzoda “to inform about the course of investigation”. At the same time he informed the family that the results of forensic expertise are ready and based on this a criminal case was initiated on “negligence”.

It would seem, in fact, that the authorities decided to demonstrate zero tolerance for torture, and this time the perpetrators of torture are brought to justice. However, on October 24, the website of “Asia-Plus” published information on the results of examination of injuries on the body of the prisoner Hamza Ikromzoda by the Center for Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of Health of Tajikistan, which “did not proved the use of torture”. “Experts concluded that the death of Hamza was a results of self-hanging” – the news agency quoted H. Ikromzoda relatives, who reviewed the results of forensic examination.

In mid-October, offices of Radio “Ozodi”, TojNews, Persian Service of BBC and the website of “Asia-Plus” were visited by the former prisoner Saidali Kazakov, who had just been released from prison after nearly eight years in prison. He told the journalists the true stories about the mayhem in Tajik prisons - extortions and torture by prison guards”. “For the whole period of my stay in the prison,  there were 14 prisoners died after being beaten by the prison’s guards. The last case was the death of Hamza Ikromzoda”- Kazakov said.

He reported that Hamza was beaten by 6 to 7 colony staff, and when he tried to resist, he was closed in the isolator. “The prison’s staff started to demand $ 2 000 from his relatives. Relative did not have that much money ... Then he allegedly hanged himself in the isolator. But there are no windows there is nothing for which he could be looped. And from what he could make this loop? I doubt that the tissue that is used for the prison robe is so strong”- said Kazakov.

A separate issue of October was the case of Sherik Karamhudoeva, head Khorog cell of IRP, who is currently being held in detention center of the State Committee of National Security in Dushanbe. He is charged with armed opposition to the government forces during the recent events in Khorog.

According to the Radio “Ozodi” and the website of “Asia-Plus”, Karamhudoev’s relatives and his lawyer claimed that during his detention in the SCNS of Khorog he was subject to  tortured and psychological pressure.

On October 18, at the website of “Asia-Plus” published information “Police officers accused in the death of Sangov are amnestied”, in which, with reference to the lawyer of the victim, it is stated that the two former police officers accused in the death of a resident of the capital Safarali Sangov, are pardoned.

"With regard to the two former senior officers of the Department of Criminal Investigation of the Sino-1 District Police Department of Dushanbe, Abdurakhmon Yakubov and Qodir Hasanov, the prosecutor office of Dushanbe dismissed the criminal case in connection with the application of the amnesty”, - says the agency.

It was reported that both that in March 2011 the 37-years Safarali Sangov was arrested in connection with alleged involvement in drug trafficking. However, at the same day he transferred from the police station to the intensive care ward of the hospital where he died a few days later without regaining consciousness. His family alleged that he was taken to hospital as a result of being severely beaten at the police station. Opposite version was provided by the law enforcement agencies: Sangov allegedly committed suicide by jumping from a ladder at an Interior Ministry building and hit his head against the wall.

The issue of torture in Tajikistan caused sharp debates at a meeting of experts in Dushanbe, on 30 October, reported by “Asia-Plus”. The roundtable participants discussed the implementation of the standards of the Istanbul Protocol - Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of torture. The agency quoted the representative of the Dushanbe office of the Open Society Institute-Assistance Foundation, Dilovar Munavvarov who noted that “the protocol standards allow forensic experts and lawyers to use the evidence base during legal proceedings. And doctors are the key person in providing rehabilitation services, if the torture took place and one of the actors to identify such facts”.

The roundtable participants noted that a forensic examination, which is an important factor in documenting torture and strengthening the evidence base, is one of the most problematic aspects. Claims of human rights defenders and lawyers were caused by the imperfection of the legislation, the low level of experts and their dependence on the law enforcement agencies.