Prisoner’s mother says her son has cut himself in protests against torture

Mrs. Ughuloy Boltaboyeva, mother of Qurbonali Boltaboyev who is serving his jail term in the Khujand penal colony, told Asia-Plus Tuesday afternoon that her son has cut himself in protest against torture and beatings.

According her, her elder son saw Qurbonali after completion of quarantine and he told relatives that Qurbonali’s hands and legs carried traces of beatings.

She added that she received alarming news last Saturday that Qurbonali could not bear the torture and ill-treatment and cut himself with a razor blade.

Mrs. Boltaboyeva said her son was sentenced to 24 years in prison for robbery and banditry in 2008.

Qurbonali Boltaboyev served the first four years of his term in the Vahdat penal colony and he has been transferred to the Khujand penal colony recently.

Dilovar Arabov, head of the Khujand penal colony, has confirmed that prisoner Boltaboyev cut himself with a razor blade in the morning of December 7.  “In the morning, he was called to the guard room but he ignored the order and began to swear dirtily.  A decision was made to put him into penalty isolator for that and an investigator prepared materials on taking measures against him,” said Arabov.  “In order to avoid penalty and intimidate penalty colony employees, Boltaboyev cut himself with a razor blade.”

He noted that injuries Boltaboyev had inflicted on himself were subcutaneous and necessary medical aid was provided to him.  “On September 10, Boltaboyev was transferred from medical unit to a cell,” Arabov added.  

We will recall that relatives of some prisoners who have been transferred from penal colonies in Dushanbe and Vahdat to a penal colony in Khujand said last month about severe beatings in the Khujand penal colony.

On November 7, they lodged an appropriate complaint to the Prosecutor-General’s Office and came to the Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law (BHR) in Dushanbe.

They reportedly told members of the Coalition of NGOs against Torture that 50 inmates of penal colonies in Dushanbe and Vahdat had been transferred to penal colony # 23 in Khujand.

Following their application, the Coalition against Torture has issued a statement demanding investigations into the alleged mass beatings of prison inmates.

The rights group says that at least four of the beaten prisoners were witnesses in the September death of an inmate that has received heavy media coverage. The statement lists six other suspicious deaths in custody.

Tajik law enforcement authorities have started visiting all prisons in the country to talk to inmates and deal with reported cases of rights violations.