On 26 June, International
Day of Support for Victims of Torture, the Coalitions against Torture in
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the Association for Human Rights in
Central Asia (AHRCA, Uzbekistan, based in exile in France), the Turkmen
Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR, Turkmenistan, based in exile in Austria) the
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland) and International Partnership for
Human Rights (IPHR) call on the governments of Central Asia to redouble efforts
to adopt a zero tolerance approach towards torture.
In recent months Central Asian governments have made some
positive steps. For instance,
the Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan adopted a Plan of Comprehensive Measures to Counter
Torture in early 2017 for the period until December 2018; in Kyrgyzstan as part of ongoing legal reforms,
procedures were adopted to improve documentation of torture in line with the
Istanbul Protocol; in Tajikistan civil society is included in discussions
about a National Human Rights Protection Strategy until 2025; in Turkmenistan the National Plan of Action on Human Rights for 2016-2020 foresees
inviting the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers,
thus potentially providing opportunities to conduct independent investigations
into the use of torture and ill-treatment; and in Uzbekistan President
Mirziyoyev signed legislation prohibiting the use in court of evidence obtained
through torture and strengthening punishments for torture in November 2017 and
April 2018 respectively.
However,
despite these improvements, torture and ill-treatment remain pervasive in
Central Asia. Statistics testify to this: in Kazakhstan the Prosecutor General’s Office reported 124 cases filed under
criminal proceedings for the crime of torture as of April 2018, and the
Coalition against Torture registers about 200 cases annually; in Kyrgyzstan the Prosecutor General’s Office received 435 complaints of
torture or ill-treatment in 2017; in Tajikistan
the NGO Coalition against Torture and Impunity registered 66 new cases of
torture and other ill-treatment in 2017 (a significant increase in comparison with
previous years). Due to the highly repressive nature of the regimes in
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, due to lack of transparency NGOs are unable to
keep meaningful statistics, but activists continue to receive credible reports
of torture.
The following critical issues need to be addressed
urgently to ensure that torture becomes a thing of the past:
In Kazakhstan impunity is the norm. According to official
statistics, between January and April 2018, 173 cases were closed including
from previous years, and only nine reached court. The state fails to ensure the
safety of detainees and prisoners who lodge complaints about torture, and victims
of torture are warned that they will be held criminally liable for a false
denunciation, which discourages many from lodging complaints.
Valery
Chupin died in March 2017 in prison colony AK-159/7 after being punished for
verbally insulting a teacher in the prison. He was tortured by six other
prisoners, with the knowledge of the detention centre administration. Witnesses
complain of pressure and blackmail from the administration of the pre-trial
detention centre in Karaganda, where they were transferred after the
investigation began. It should be noted that in Kazakhstan all institutions,
both the system of execution of sentences and pre-trial detention since July
2011, are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The
Kazakhstani authorities should: register all complaints of torture should where
there are reasonable grounds to believe torture could have occurred; cease
threatening people lodging complaints of torture with criminal prosecution if their
complaint fails to be substantiated. They should also ensure investigations
into torture complaints are carried out in an unbiased, professional manner and
that the security of victims and witnesses of torture is assured.
Kyrgyzstan has not put in place crucial safeguards
against torture for those in pre-trial detention. For example, domestic
legislation does not provide for a Habeas Corpus procedure. The lack of
effective investigatory mechanisms continues to block justice for torture
victims. Only a few police officers have been convicted for the crime of
torture (Article 305-1) since it was introduced in 2003. Kyrgyzstan has failed
to fully implement any of the rulings by the UN Human Rights Committee in
relation to victims of torture and other ill-treatment.
Nargiz Rajapova alleges that she was
tortured by police officers from 23-25 March 2017 to pressurize her to
incriminate her husband in the murder of a police officer. Rajapova reported
that police officers beat her on the stomach with a bottle of water; put a bag
over her head until she lost consciousness and inserted needles under her
fingernails. Although the case involved serious procedural violations and a
criminal case was opened into the allegations of torture on 28 March 2018,
investigations have not progressed and the officers accused of torture continue
to work.
The Kyrgyzstani authorities should create
and fund an independent body endowed with sufficient authority and competence
to conduct prompt, thorough and independent investigations into allegations of
torture or other ill-treatment.
In Tajikistan legislation providing for safeguards against torture
in pre-trial detention needs to be consistently implemented in practice as the risk of torture and ill-treatment remains particularly
high in the early stages of detention. Investigations into allegations of torture and ill-treatment are rarely
conducted effectively and there are no mechanisms in place to ensure prompt,
thorough, impartial and fully independent investigations. This issue, combined
with the fact that penalties under Article 143-1 (“torture”) of the Criminal
Code of Tajikistan are not commensurate with the gravity of the crimes
committed and perpetrators of torture often benefit from amnesties, serves to
further perpetuate the problem of impunity. Compensation awarded for moral
damages sustained through torture in recent rulings has been neither fair nor
adequate, and domestic legislation does not provide victims with opportunities for
rehabilitation, satisfaction or guarantees of non-repetition.
On 28 March 2018, Rasulchon Nazarov was
detained by police in relation to suspicions of drug trafficking. Early the
next morning, Rasulchon’s wife learned that her husband had been transferred
from Sino-2 police station in Dushanbe to Karabolo hospital. The next day the
family were informed that Rasulchon had died.
Rasulchon’s body was released to the
family for burial - photos and video recordings of Rasulchon’s body show clear
signs of beating including bruising and grazes on the face; knees, genitals and
abdomen, as well as two identical round marks 0.5 cm in size 6cm apart on his
right elbow which appear to be marks from a machine used to administer electric
shocks.
The lawyer from the Coalition against
Torture and Impunity in Tajikistan took up the case in April 2018 and lodged
complaints with the Dushanbe Prosecutor’s office and the office of the General
Prosecutor. The lawyer has faced
persistent obstructions from the authorities in the course of her work on this
case. She has not been allowed to see procedural documents in the case
materials, and has not received timely responses to her requests and
complaints.
The
Tajikistani authorities should combat impunity by establishing a separate
mechanism to investigate and prosecute torture or ill-treatment which is
independent from those official bodies accused of perpetrating the crimes, and
ensure that victims of torture and ill-treatment are able to access adequate
compensation as well as rehabilitation and redress.
In Turkmenistan, concerns persist over the lack of access to prisons and places
of detention for independent monitors. Visits by international observers to
prisons are tightly controlled by the authorities and, as noted by the US
Embassy in Turkmenistan, it is not known whether the demonstrated conditions of
detention of prisoners correspond to reality. In 2016, representatives of the
diplomatic community applied to visit the prison "Ovadan-Depe", but
were refused permission.
Thirty persons suspected of collaboration with Fettulla Gulen
(alleged organizer of an attempted coup in Turkey in 2016) were detained and
subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. The group was mostly comprised of
former teachers and students of Turkmen-Turkish lycees. Many detainees were
sentenced to long prison terms after unfair trials, and at least two were taken
to Ovadan-Depe prison. In November 2017, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention recognized that the arrest of 18 of these individuals was arbitrary,
and urged the authorities of Turkmenistan to immediately release them and
provide compensation.
The Turkmenistani authorities should: Implement the
recommendations of the UN Council Working Group on 18 convicted persons on
suspicion of cooperation with Fettulla Gülen and conduct an independent
investigation into all allegations of torture and bring those responsible to
justice and issue invitations to UN Special Rapporteurs including the Special
Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.
In Uzbekistan, following Presidential criticism of the practice of
torture, government representatives accused of torture have been brought to
justice in recent months. However, their trials have been closed to public
scrutiny, and the names of the perpetrators have not been made public. In many
cases they have been charged with abuse of power (Article 301 of the Criminal
Code) instead of the crime of torture (Article 235), which means that they
are facing lighter penalties.
For
example, several officials were found guilty in closed court hearings of abuse
of power, rather than torture, in relation to allegations that they tortured
the independent journalist Bobomurod
Abdullayev. Although the
trial was mostly open to the public, closed sessions were
held relating to the actions of officials who were subsequently found guilty of
abuse of power (Article 301 of the Criminal Code), rather than torture. The
verdict was based on a medical examination that concluded that Bobomurod
Abdullayev had not been tortured, although he showed injuries sustained through
torture in court.
In a recent positive development, on 22 June 2018, the
Military Court of Uzbekistan found seven former law enforcement officials
guilty of torturing Ilhom and Rakhim Ibodov in September 2015. Ilhom died in
detention. Six of the officials were sentenced to between 14 and 18 years‘ imprisonment
after they were found guilty under Articles 235 and 301 part 3. One official
was fined 70 million soms (equivalent to 7,600 Euros). In a first for
Uzbekistan, four prisoners were also found guilty of torturing the Ibodov
brothers on the orders of prison officials, and were sentenced to between 16
and 18 years‘ imprisonment. Concerns remain in this case regarding the transparency
and independence of forensic medical examinations as the forensic examination
found that Ilhom Ibodov died of a heart attack.
The
Uzbekistani authorities should ensure that all court cases on torture are open
and transparent; allow independent forensic medical examinations; and ensure
that torture investigations are carried out by independent mechanisms.
