Police officer in Yovon district jailed for torture

The article against torture has been used in Tajikistan for the first time.

The district police officer from the Yovon district Mashraf Aliyev has been sentenced to seven years in prison for use of torture against a suspect.

A court in the Yovon district, Khalton province sentenced the district police officer Mashraf Aliyev to seven years in prison on September 6.  The sentence followed his conviction on charges of torture (Article 143' of Tajikistan’s Penal Code) and misuse of powers (Article 316).  Aliyev will serve his sentence in a high-security penal colony.

The trial of Mashraf Aliyev began on July 25.

We will recall that criminal proceedings have been instituted against Aliyev under the provisions of three articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 143' – torture; Article 109 – driving to suicide; and Article 316 – misuse of powers.

On April 29 this year, the underage resident of the village of Kulobod in the Yovon district, Khoushvakht Mahmadsaid, was found hanged at home after he was tortured and beaten by the district police officer Aliyev.  The relatives took Khoushvakht from the hook in time and he remained alive.  Khoushvakht Mahmadsaid was detained on suspicion of theft and the preliminary investigation reportedly established that Aliyev used torture and beating to extort a confession from the teenager.

It is to be noted that it was the first that it was the first criminal case instituted in Tajikistan under the provisions of the article against torture.

Torture was introduced into Tajikistan’s criminal code as a crime in March this year.