Prisoner's hunger strike as a protest against torture?

Press review for April 2013

On April 1 the website of the Radio Ozodi informed that the prisoner of the Kurgan-Tube colony continues hunger strike. In particular, the article states: “One of the prisoners in the penal colony of Kurgan-Tube Abdujabbor Rakhmonov, went on hunger strike after being beaten by the prison’s officers and is demanding the authority of the Main Directorate for Execution of Punishments under the Ministry of RT GUIN to review this fact. His relative Murodjon Rakhmonov informed on April 1 that his brother started the hunger strike more than a week ago. According to his brother, the Major Iskandar Ismatov and several other prison staff have been torturing Rahmonov over the last month, brutally beating him, and such situation continues to this day”.

However, according to the representative of the GUIUN of the Ministry of Justice RT Odinasho Murodov the investigation conducted by the Ministry did not prove the facts indicated in the prisoner’s complaint.

On April 3 the same issue was continued by the weekly “Faraj” (№ 14 (331)), in its article “Abdujabbor Rakhmonov went on hunger strike?” where the publication brings the feedback of the lawyer Shukhrat Kudratov on this incident: “Indeed, not always the correctional institutions throughout the country respect the rights of prisoners. Very rare prisoners’ complaints against the prison officers are directed to the relevant authorities. And those complaints that do come to the prosecutor or other structures are not considered thoroughly and objectively. I am sure that after such complains the prisoner becomes a subject to cruel treatment from the prison’s guards, including torture. The main reason is that the penal colony is a state within a state. The hunger strike - is a form of protest against torture and drawing public attention to the problem. In other way no one reacts on prisoners’ problems”.

On April 2, the website of “Tojnews” reported that the Sughd Oblast Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case against two prisoners of Khujand prison Sadriddin Toshev, known as Qory Sadriddin and Sunatullo Rizoev on article 332 Part 2 (Actions disorganizing the work of prison) and 346 part 2 (knowingly false denunciation) of the Criminal Code. The main basis for this legal action was the transmission to the media outlets in particular to “Asia-Plus” and Radio Ozodi of false information and fraudulent video from the prison.

The prosecutor's office believes that the convicted intentionally inflicted blows to each other, and then recorded the injuries on a mobile phone in order to falsely accuse the administration and staff of the colony of causing bodily injury.

Toshev and Rizoev among a large group of prisoners were transferred to Khujand colony from the Dushanbe colony # 1 last fall, after the death of Hamza Ikromzoda one of the prison’s convicts. According to Ikromzoda’s family that on his body were seen clear signs of torture, while the prion’s experts claim that Ikormzoda committed suicide through self-hanging.

On the same day, on April 2, the website of “Asia-Plus” informed that the mother of Bahromiddin Shodiev, who died in one of the capital’s police offices, presumably as a result of torture, has filed a claim for compensation for moral and material damages in the amount of 180 thousand TJS (about 38. 000 USD).

According to the lawyer Gulchekhra Holmatova that the claim was filed against the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The “Asia-Plus” reminds that this is not the first such case in the country’s court practice. In March of this year, the court ordered the Interior Ministry of RT to pay compensation to the widow of Dushanbe resident Safarali Sangov, who according to his family, died as a result of beatings and torture at the police station. The size of the installed compensation is 46.5 thousand TJS (about 10,000 USD).

In addition, the widow of Bachadzhonov Ismoil, who died in 2011 after being beaten in the pretrial detention facility of the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan, has received compensation for the loss of a breadwinner in the amount of 30 thousand TJS (over 6,000 USD) from the Main Directorate for Execution of Punishments under the Ministry of RT .

On April 15, TojNews website reported on the incident in the Somoni district court, where started the trial over the death of a prisoner of Dushanbe colony # 1 Ikromzoda Hamza. In the dock is the prison’s officer Mahmoud Ismailov, who is accused in abuse of office.

However, according to H. Ikromzoda brother - Amirali Ikromov, the court from the very beginning went with violations.

“First of all, the injured party did not receive the court summon, we are not officially notified that the court hearing is scheduled for April 15. My mother received a phone call from someone from the court on Friday who informed her to be present in Somoni district court on Monday. Due to the fact that the lawyer, who was provided by the Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, was on a business trip, the BHR staff members helped us to file an application to the court to postpone the hearings until the lawyer is back”- said Amirali Ikromov.

The application to the court was submitted by Ikromzoda’s mother and his brother. However, entering the indicated office they saw the defendant along with about 30 people from his relatives and colleagues. “The defendant Mahmud Ismoilov looked at us with a grin and said “you could do whatever you want” hinting that the court will be on his side. The judge Rustam Mirzoev did not take into account the letter of notification from the BHR and the court hearing continued. I said that we will not participate in the court without a lawyer. Someone started to pool me off to the door, and a man in a suit and tie, hit me in the face. Moreover, one of the relatives of the accused had indulged my mother”- said Amirali Ikromov.

Meanwhile, the Judge Rustam Mirzoev declined to comment on the situation that occur during the hearing, and did not explain why the injured party did not receive official court summon from the court.

Meanwhile, in January of this year, the General Procurator Sherkhon Salimzoda said at a press conference that the criminal responsibility for the death of a prisoner Hamza Ikromzoda involved three officials.

The news agency TojNews returned to this issue on April 17 in its article “Council of Justice’s position on the fact of beating of Ikromzoda in the courtroom.”

“The Council of Justice of Tajikistan considers this incident as an offense,” - said the deputy chairman of the Council of Justice Mavlyuda Sattorova. According to her, they learned about the incident from the media and as soon as they will receive a complaint from Amirali Ikromzoda and evidences of his beating, they will take actions against officers of the court.

The website of the publication of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan www.nahzat.tj published an article “Kabiri: It's a lie that there is no torture in Tajikistan.” The article says that the leader of the party Kabiri, after he heard about the complaint of Hamza Ikromzoda mother Zulaikho Djuraeva, noted that “those who argue that there is no torture in the country's prisons, lie, as the President himself called to stop such practice. And if there is no torture then what the President was talking about?.”

On April 12 the website of “Asia-Plus” reported that the investigation into the death of Ismonboi Boboev, who died in 2010 during the arrest allegedly caused by torture, will be reopened.

On that day the city court of Khujand partially upheld the complaint of Juraboi Boboev, father of I. Boboev against the officers of prosecutor office of Sughd.

According to the lawyer Abdurahmon Sharipov whose services were provided by the Independent Centre for Human Rights Protection, the court invalidated the suspension of the investigation of the case and sent it back for additional investigation to the Sughd oblast prosecutor's office.

“Upon our request the court sent a enquiries to the medical institutions in Isfara and Kanibadam which provided information that even before the case suspension both suspects- Firdavs Shokirov and Manuchehr Akbarov really appealed to these facilities with minor ailments and fled the institutions in the normal state of health. Despite this fact, on October 30, 2012 the Court decided to suspend the case on the basis of suspects’ health conditions. Moreover according to section3 Part 1 of the article 230 of the Criminal Code of RT suspension of a criminal investigation is allowed only in case of the illness of the accused, not the suspect (Shokirov and Akbarov are both suspects),”- said Sharipov.

On April 18, the news agency “Asia-Plus” reported that the staff members of the city restaurant “Kebab House” were subjected to ill-treatment by law enforcement officials. The victims of the incident turned to “Asia-Plus” office to report this case. According to Marat, a waiter from “Kebab House”, it was after midnight when they (there were 7 persons in car) left the restaurant on a minibus that every night takes the restaurant staff home.

"We were passing near the infectious hospital at Zarafshon when the car was stopped by the officers of a traffic police and OMON. The vehicle was approached by “omonovec” who requested for the driver documents. The driver provided his driver's license and registration certificate. However, the officer demanded the driver's passport, and after the driver asked on what basis the OMON representative is requiring a passport, he was heavily struck in the face while speaking obscenely. He shouted, “So you also know your rights?!”  After that, he reloaded the Kalashnikov rifle and pointed it toward the driver, and then up “, - said Marat.

According to him, the cook who was sitting next to driver tried to solve the situation, however, the "policeman" started to beat him with his feet. It was decided to drive to the police station. “As soon as we arrived at the Sino Police station, we had been kicked to the territory of the department. We were held in a cold courtyard of the police station , then we were sent to the addiction clinic and after passing tests for alcohol and drugs, which came out negative, at 4:00 am we were released, “- say the affected young people.

On April 30 the website of “Asia-Plus” informed that the 28-year-old citizen of Tajikistan Savriddin Djuraev, sentenced last spring to a long prison term on the charges of extremism, won a lawsuit against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights.

According to the Head of the program “Right to asylum” of the Human Rights Institute (Russia) Elena Riabinina, the Court ordered Russia to pay the applicant a total of 35,920 in non-pecuniary damages and legal costs.

It was noted that the European Court of Human Rights issued its ruling on the case # 71386/10 “Savriddin Djuraev against Russia” on April 25, 2013.

Djuraev, who is currently serving a prison sentence in Tajikistan, arrived in Russia in 2006, after the death of his “ustod” - a teacher of Islam, in the Tajik police custody under mysterious circumstances. Djuraev left the country for fear of persecution by the police.

In November 2009 Djuraev was detained in Moscow after he was declare in search by Tajik law enforcement agencies.

"The essence of the charges was the fact that in 1992, when Savriddinu was 7 years old, he joined the radical Islamists and engaged in illegal activity, then it follows from the second request, he being already in Russia, organized a cell of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), "- said human rights activist Elena Ryabinina.

With regard to the authorities’ failure to protect the applicant against the real and imminent risk of torture and ill-treatment by preventing his forcible transfer to Tajikistan, the lack of an effective investigation into the incident, and the involvement of State agents in that operation, the ECHR held that Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention) had been violated.

With regard to Russia’s failure to comply with the interim measures indicated by the ECHR, the court held that Article 34 of the Convention had been violated.

Finally, on account of the delays in examining the applicant’s appeals against the detention orders the ECHR held that Article 5 of the Convention had been violated

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office issued a decision on his extradition on the basis of the submitted documents of the Tajik side. However, the decision to grant a suspended Dzhurayev European Court, taking his defense, which claimed that a man at home can be tortured. In addition, Jurayev was granted temporary asylum in Russia.

“On the night of October 31 to November 1, 2011 Savriddin was kidnapped in Moscow, and on November 3, he was interrogated in Khujand on the same criminal case the Tajik side demanded his extradition. In January 2012, during the court hearing which was held inside of the detention center, he reported that he had been kidnapped in Moscow and illegally taken to Tajikistan, where he was forced to sign a confession and incriminate himself. At the hearing he declined much of the “confessions” given by him under pressure during the first interrogation”- continued Riabinina.

However, in the spring of 2012 Djuraev was sentenced to 26 years in prison.

With regard to the authorities’ failure to protect the applicant against the real and imminent risk of torture and ill-treatment by preventing his forcible transfer to Tajikistan, the lack of an effective investigation into the incident, and the involvement of State agents in that operation, the ECHR held that Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention) had been violated.

The Court ruled that Russia's commitments on performance solutions on Savriddin Dzhuraev’s case cannot be limited to the payment of compensation. As noted in the decision, its findings suggest that the repeated abductions of applicants and their transfer to the country of destination to the deliberate violation of legal procedures are as blatant disrespect for the rule of law and suggests that individual governments have developed a practice of violation of its obligations to comply with national legislation and the Convention.