CIVIL SOCIETY COALITION AGAINST TORTURE AND IMPUNITY IN TAJIKISTAN (2018 Annual Report)

In 2018 the Coalition managed to achieve certain results in the fight against torture in Tajikistan:

• 44 cases of alleged torture and ill-treatment were documented the Coalition members in 2018, 41 victims of torture and  ill-treatment were provided with legal advice of which 38 were newly registered cases, and 3 were registered in the past several years.
• The Coalition managed to achieve significant result in the case of Khojinazarov K. In connection with the use of torture the following persons were convicted by the Military court of Khujand Garrison:

- Yuldoshev L – Criminal investigation Officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan in Sughd region, was sentenced under Art. 143¹ part 3, paragraph “b” (Torture), 358 part 1 (arbitrary arrest or detention), 247 part 3 point “a” (Fraud) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan to 13 years of imprisonment in a strict-regime colony with deprivation of the right to  hold posts in law enforcement agencies up to 2 years;

-  Naimov Muhammad, Officer of the State National Security Committee of the Asht district, was sentenced under the art. 143¹, part 3, paragraph "b" (Torture) to 12 years of imprisonment in a strict-regime colony with deprivation of the right to hold posts in in security bodies up to 3 years

-     Another officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan in the Sughd region Sh.Sh., left the country immediately after the criminal procedures were launched into the case of  Khodzhinazarov K. and was put on the wanted list. At the moment, he is charged under Art. 143¹ part 3, paragraph "b" (Torture), 358 part 1 (arbitrary arrest or detention), 247 part 3 point "a" (Fraud) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan. Preliminary investigation continues

▪    At the results of the inspections, conducted by the competent state authorities, in connection to alleged cases of torture and ill-treatment five people - employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan were dismissed of their posts. A preliminary investigation has been launched against two officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Internal Affairs - 2 in the Firdavsi district of Dushanbe on charges of abuse of power and illegal detention.

▪    Special court ruling were adopted against five officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for violating the CPC of the RT and abuse of official authority.

▪    Coalition lawyers are stepping up their practice of applying the norms of Art. 88-1 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Tajikistan by submitting substantiated petitions on inadmissibility of evidence obtained as a result of torture and ill-treatment. Thus, at the result of vigorous activities of lawyers, criminal cases were terminated in regard of two persons,  previously  detained  by  Tursunzade  Police  Department  and  the  State  National Security Committee in Penjikent, due to the lack of evidence of their involvement in the commission of a crime using Article 88.1 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Tajikistan.

▪    49 people received psycho-social assistance (rehabilitation). This included 20 women and 29 men. 27 of them directly experienced torture and ill-treatment, the remaining 22 were family members of victims of torture. 49 people underwent rehabilitation: 20 women and 29 men,

including  27  people  directly  affected  by  torture  and  ill-treatment,  and  22  people  from families of victims of torture and ill-treatment.

▪    The Coalition is a leader in strategic litigation, consistently influencing improvement of the judicial practice related to government payment of adequate financial compensation to the victims of torture and ill-treatment and to their relatives. Organizations actively collect evidence, involve national and international experts in assessing moral damages and use amicus opinions during court proceedings. In 2018, the Coalition has filed an amicus curiae opinion in the case of Zaydulloev S to the Sino district in Dushanbe. The amicus opinion was prepared by the Experts from the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Warsaw).

▪    Members of the Coalition participate in the activities of the Monitoring Group for Closed Detention Facilities established under the Human Rights Ombudsman HRO. In 2018 the group visited 16 closed and semi-closed institutions and 5 military units.

▪    The  Coalition  monitors  compliance  of  the  authorities  with  their  obligations  under  the international standards related to freedom from torture, prepares alternative reports to UN treaty bodies, and actively promotes freedom from torture during human rights dialogues with the government.

▪    Over 394 analytical materials, infographics, press reviews were published by the Coalition’s Media group, including 168 materials in Russian, 195 in Tajik, and 31 in English. The social pages of the Coalition are constantly updated.

As of December 31, 2018, there are twelve public organizations and twelve individual members of the Coalition   

For more information, please contact:

Nurmakhmad Khalilov - Head of the Coalition of Civil Society Against Torture and Impunity in Tajikistan, Center for Human Rights and Shoira Davlatova - Coordinator of the Coalition Media Group, Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights.

Email: notorture.tj@gmail.com