11.8.20

Kyrgyzstan: No forced return to Uzbekistan

On 9 August, Uzbekistani journalist Bobomurod Abdullayev was arrested in Bishkek by officials of the State Committee for State Security (SKNB) of Kyrgyzstan. Amnesty International, Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA), Civil Rights Defenders, International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), Freedom House, Freedom Now and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) urge the Kyrgyzstani authorities to protect him from forced return to Uzbekistan where he would be at real risk of torture and other ill-treatment. In Uzbekistan, the journalist is wanted on what appear to be trumped-up anti-government charges O carrying a punishment of up to 20 years’ imprisonment, the groups said.

Bobomurod Abdullayev
In an official statement made on 9 August, the Kyrgyzstani security services stated that Abdullayev had been arrested under the 1993 Minsk Convention for Legal Assistance and Legal Relations on Civil, Family and Criminal Matters pursuant to an extradition request from Uzbekistan. He is currently being held in a security service temporary-detention centre in Bishkek.

“We remind Kyrgyzstan of its non-derogable international obligation under Article 3 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment which forbids any state from returning, extraditing or refouling any person to a state where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture – Abdullayev must not be sent back to Uzbekistan”, said Brigitte Dufour, Director of IPHR.

In early 2020 Abdullayev became worried about his security after the Canada-based Uzbek journalist Ismat Khushevim named him as the possible author of several articles criticizing the authorities on an anonymous website.

In February 2020 Abdullayev travelled to Bishkek from Germany on an official invitation to follow a four-month course as part of a programme for independent journalists and former political prisoners at the American University of Central Asia which ended on 1 July. When his stay at the university ended, he was unable to leave Kyrgyzstan as the borders were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 13 July, the American University of Central Asia informed him that officials from the Kyrgyzstani security services were trying to locate him. Earlier in July 2020 Abdullayev told AHRCA  that he was concerned about his security as he feared the Uzbekistani security services wanted to question him or abduct him after several anonymous persons had posted online accusing him of being the author of the above mentioned critical anonymous publications.

“When Bobomurod Abdullayev was last in the hands of the Uzbekistani security services, they tortured him for days on end – and there is a significant risk that he would be tortured yet again if sent back”, said Nadejda Atayeva, President of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia.

Abdullayev is wanted for prosecution in relation to charges including attempting to overthrow the President (Article 158 of the Criminal Code) and the Constitutional regime (Article 159), punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment. The charges are believed to be linked to a series of publications critical of President Mirziyoyev and his family posted on Facebook under the pseudonym Qora Mergan and on an anonymous site registered in Canada under a different pseudonym. Abdullayev has categorically denied being the author of these publications and the Uzbekistani authorities have reportedly produced no credible evidence to seriously implicate him.

On 10 August, Pervomaisky District Court in Bishkek held a remand hearing and ruled to detain him until 8 September 2020. The Kyrgyzstani court confirmed that he is wanted in Uzbekistan on the above-mentioned charges. On 10 August, Abdullayev applied for refugee status.

“Bobomurod Abdullayev is being targeted as an independent journalist.  Kyrgyzstan must live up to its international human rights obligations and release him so that he can seek asylum,” said Marie Struthers, Director, Amnesty International Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.“

Background:

Abdullayev was arrested on 27 September 2017 in Tashkent by officers of the State Security Service on anti-constitutional charges which were widely believed to have been politically motivated. He was held for several months in detention during which time he reports being tortured in order to force him to testify against himself and several other people including political opposition leaders, critics, civil society activists, and former diplomats. At a court hearing in 2018, Abdullayev admitted writing a series of articles under the pseudonym “Usman Khakhnazarov” which were critical of former President Karimov. Abdullayev was released from 7 May 2018 and vowed that he would not write anonymous articles again.

Since his release from detention, Abdullayev has been regularly subjected to surveillance and harassment by Uzbekistani security services.


4.8.20

Uzbekistan: Yelena Tsarevskaya, a resident of Tashkent, made a video message to the President with an appeal: "Help your people!"

 

Yelena Tsarevskaya
access the video address: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVs6f0GVPog&feature=youtu.be

#СOVID19 

Good afternoon. It has been a long time since I recorded a video. Please do not mind me, as they say, the more time I spend at home, the less homely I look.

 

Today I would like to address our esteemed President, Shavkat Miromonovich.

Dear Mr. President,

I have watched so many video messages addressed to you, but I do not have any anger, I do not have angry addresses, or wishes and so on for you. The only thing I want to ask you is that either you take a fresh look at your entire, so called, inner circle and remove all corrupt officials from it, or in the near future, Uzbekistan simply will not have any future left, because you should pay attention at what is happening in our Republic now.

No more people are dying of Covid or pneumonia than of hunger. I hope you appreciate that at the moment people have no money to just sit at home without work, and employers have no money to just pay.

It has to be said that you have allocated a certain amount of money, however, you have not announced when it will be paid, in September, October, November, this year, at all or not?

Therefore, now people are simply storming the mahalla committees asking for help.

What are they being told by the mahalla? – There is no money, no money. Well, where is it? Where did the money go? Were the funds plundered before they reached the mahalla? At the Khokimiyat? Or even higher up? Please, explain it to us.

The people are simply terrified right now. I am failing to find the words to describe it. I do not know what to do. People try to reach out to the mahalla asking for help, and the mahalla replies: “but you have a refrigerator, you have a TV, sell them and live on the proceeds”. The thing is that no one is willing to buy a refrigerator or a TV, no one needs it. People need food or money. Where do I store the food if I sell my refrigerator? And how can I distract the children in quarantine if I do not have TV? What to do? This is some kind of vicious circle. Do you understand?

Why don't you appoint certain people who would check the mahalla committees? Even when there was help of 1197, the mahalla brazenly stole food: chickens, milk, eggs. In other words, some people simply received torn packages or boxes from which certain products were missing. They were told lies to their faces: "it was missing, that is the end of it."

You have huge embezzlement, misappropriation of state funds going on. So many of your officials have stolen money, but you are not doing anything about it. Khokims only know how to apologise. I do not know what to make of it, is this some kind of new trend in Uzbekistan? Have you stolen? Apologise! Have you made people kneel in the water, locked them in the bus in the heat? Apologise. Well, what do we get out of your khokims’ apologies? Nothing.

You understand that now the people will just get up and go. People will die of hunger. Looting will start over a can of tinned meat. Because there is nothing to feed the children.

Currently, you are locking down people at their homes for two days. With all due respect, they are free to go anywhere for five days a week, and who can guarantee that they will not get infected during those five days? And the fact that they are under a lockdown at home for two days and the bazaars are closed does not mean anything. Absolutely. I do not understand what this is. Who invented this? What kind of moronism is this?

People walk on foot. Public transport is not available. Cars are not allowed at certain times. And what if a family, a person has only one car? And if he leaves early in the morning and returns late in the evening. When are they supposed to go to the bazaars? Where are they supposed to shop? I can say from my own experience that I walk three kilometres to get to the bazaar, to buy cheaper greens, dairy products. I am ashamed to admit, but I bargain for a hundred soums, because money is short. And I am not alone, there are many people like me in Tashkent, in Uzbekistan - in Nukus, in Khorezm, anywhere. There are many people like me. I hope you appreciate the situation. What are you doing about it?

People have been writing a petition seeking the resignation of the Minister of Health, because he failed. There are no ambulances. Ambulances arrive only after three and a half hours, because they have to go through block-posts, bypass concrete fences that have been placed on the roads. Can you please explain to us what these are for? The ambulance either does not show up, or arrives in three and a half hours, by which time it is too late for person seeking the help. The ambulances are not taking patients to hospitals, because they say that hospitals are closed - there are no beds. But if you have "tanish-bilish" (if you know the right people in the right places - Editor's note), you can get a hospital bed. How come?

And you say that you are fighting corruption? No. It is the people who are fighting it. They are somehow trying to upload videos and everything else. Please help us. Please explain to us. How we, the people, should live?

Now, let's say, someone gets paid benefits, a certain amount for each family. If there are two people in the family, they will get somewhere in the region of five hundred thousand soums. But, excuse me, out of these five hundred thousand they must also pay for the "communal services". You could at least provide for easing of some of the payment requirements so that utilities would not be charged. For electricity, for gas, for the Internet. Well, the Internet, it seems to me, is no longer as interesting as simply hot water, heating, electricity, gas. You are not even providing for the easing of the payments for the people. And how should the people live? What on? Should they go beg? If so, almost half of the population of Uzbekistan will be on the streets doing just that. Please explain to us, what should we do. How should we live on?

Now we need to get the children to school - there is no money. Will online teaching be provided? We are going to have a generation of uneducated children. I am telling you, we will have an uneducated generation. Because online teaching is utter rubbish. And some may wave their hands and says: “Oh, this is so great” - yes, maybe it is great that the child is at home, but you know that he is at home, but you also know that he is not learning. He needs control, he needs to be explained thirty-three times. What will happen next? Now majority of Universities will teach online. What kind of education will the Universities be providing? What should be done? Please explain this to the people.

Make some sort of normal decision. Take matters into your own hands. Make sure no one steals. Help people. You did not declare this an emergency. Because even people already know that if you declare it an emergency, you must pay a certain amount of money. But there is no money. But you are borrowing funds. And who will pay them back? People again? And this money has already been plundered along the way. The funds have been siphoned off even before they were received.

Shavkat Miromonovich, please help your people. The people are indeed requesting it. They are requesting, asking. What will happen next? Please help us.

I know that many people wrote to you - both by posting video messages and angry posts.

I have no negative attitude towards you. I have a negative attitude, probably, towards our Khokims, ministers. Sometimes what they voice and say on the air, as they say, it is all taken out of context. It feels like they all went to the same school and graduated from the same institute. Because, I do not know how much brains power one should have to say such nonsense, to make it up.

So what are we going to do? What should the people do? Please help, because as soon as the first flights open, it seems to me that several million people will be missing. Maybe even half of the population of Uzbekistan, because many will leave, they do not see a future here - neither for themselves, nor for their children.

No future. You promise us a peaceful sky overhead. Well, yes - blue sky. And then what?

People have nothing to eat. Look what is happening in the regions. People have no money, and you impose fines. No mask? Fined. Did you go by car? Fined. A bike? Fined. Where should people get their money from?

You want to lock us down at home. This is awful. We cannot do it, nor can our children stay at home for a long time. Especially those with small children. They need walks. Parks are closed, they can only walk near their homes, where patrolling cars drive around.

So what should the people do? Shavkat Miromonovich, please help us. Because, I cannot be sure, but this is probably the last straw for the people. Our patience is running out. Please take some drastic action. Please help us.

I would like to thank you for the fact that, probably, someone will bring this to your attention, and you will see it and draw a conclusion for yourself.

Thank you all and goodbye.  

 

2.8.20

Mutabar Turgunova, wife of Uzbek human rights activist Agzam Turgunov, passed away


Mutabar Turgunova
The Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA) expresses condolences to human rights activist Agzam Turgunov in connection with the passing of his wife Mutabar Turgunova. We all knew her as a loyal and courageous person who unflinchingly shared all the ordeals that befell her husband and her family.

Mutabar Turgunova died this morning in the hospital in Tashkent.  She was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Throughout her husband's decades-long struggle for human rights in the region, Mutabar identified his plight and his beliefs as her own. Alone, during her husband’s long prison sentence, she took over the responsibility for raising their children. This gave strength to Agzam, who was imprisoned for many years. Anyone who knew Mutabar-opa personally will remember her as a warm, caring and loving person.

May her heart and soul find peace and comfort.


The staff of the AHRCA


25.7.20

Death of human rights defender Azimjan Askarov - political assassination

Azimjan Askarov (photo from archives DW.COM)

Azimjan Askarov died in prison because of years of ill-treatment and limited access to adequate medical care.

The Association of Human Rights in Central Asia believes that Askarov was the victim of a premeditated murder - the authorities were aware of the threat to his health, but ignored requests for medical assistance, which led to his death.

Numerous facts indicate that criminal offences have been committed against human rights defender Askarov under the following articles of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code:

— 150 "Leaving in danger":
"... knowingly leaving a person who is in a life-threatening or health-threatening condition without the help and this person is deprived of the opportunity to take measures for self-preservation due to the <…> illness or helplessness, in cases when the perpetrator himself put him in a life-threatening condition, while having the obligation to provide necessary care <…>";

— 151 "Failure to provide help":
"... failure to assist a person who is in a life-threatening or health-threatening condition and is unable to take measures for self-preservation because of <…> an illness <…>".

Taking into consideration the fact that the Kyrgyz Republic has for a decade ignored all the appeals and recommendations of international human rights bodies, including the UN Human Rights Committee, which recognized Askarov as a victim of human rights violations, we call for Azimjan Askarov to be declared the victim of the political reprisal that led to his death.

The Association of Human Rights in Central Asia believes that the President of Kyrgyzstan, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, being the guarantor of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, in the current situation has shown lack of principles, becoming an accomplice to a political murder.

We call on the countries of the democratic community to put Sooronbai Jeenbekov, as well as all officials involved in the torture and political murder of human rights defender Azimjan Askarov, on the "banned persons list" of human rights violators.

We express our condolences to all the relatives and colleagues of human rights defender Azimjan Askarov.

HE WILL BE REMEMBERED AND MISSED.

Team of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia





12.6.20

Kyrgyzstan: Drop charges against human rights defender

Kamil Ruziev, human rights defender in Kyrgyzstan.
Photo: Private
In Kyrgyzstan, human rights defender Kamil Ruziev is facing forgery charges that appear to have been brought in retaliation for his human rights work, in particular his efforts to hold security service officials accountable for torture and threats against his person. The Kyrgyzstani authorities should immediately drop the charges against Ruziev, protect him against persecution and investigate the complaints he has filed about human rights violations, the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA), Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) and School of Law (SL) said today.
  
Fifty-seven-year-old Kamil Ruziev heads the public foundation “Ventus” and is well-known for defending the rights of victims of torture, domestic violence, and discrimination on the grounds of nationality. He has repeatedly filed complaints against security service officials and police officers in cases involving allegations of torture and other human rights violations. Recently he has also sought to ensure accountability for a high-ranking security service official who has repeatedly threatened to kill him because of his work (see more below).
  
On May 29, officers from Kyrgyzstan’s security service detained Ruziev in the city of Karakol in eastern Kyrgyzstan. Following his detention, Ruziev was informed that he is being investigated on charges of forgery under article 359, part 2 of the Criminal Code – an article that carries a punishment of maximum seven years’ imprisonment. To back up these charges, the security services’ press service published video materials showing three individuals, whom Ruziev has previously represented or assisted, accusing him of fraud. However, the human rights groups issuing this statement have received information indicating that the individuals were coerced into making these accusations against Ruziev. On May 31, Karakol City Court sanctioned the charges against the defender and he was transferred to house arrest pending the trial in his case.
“The circumstances of this case lead us to conclude that the criminal charges against Ruziev are aimed at punishing him for his human rights and anti-torture work. We call on the Kyrgyzstani authorities to immediately release him and drop the charges. Ruziyev’s case clearly shows how vulnerable a human rights defender is in Kyrgyzstan and how the GKNB, in violation of constitutional principles, coordinates attacks on critics of the regime”, said Leila Nazgul Seiitbek, Kyrgyzstan Representative at AHRCA.
During the two days Ruziev spent in the security services’ detention center in the Issyk-Kul region, interrogators subjected him to severe pressure, including threats and intimidation, in an attempt to make him incriminate himself. Ruziev told the AHRCA that authorities furthermore interfered with his right to legal counsel and that he was denied access to necessary prescription drugs. Following his transfer to house arrest, Ruziev was hospitalized due to stress, underlying health problems and a hunger strike he launched on the day of his detention. On June 8, three security service officials entered the hospital ward where Ruziev was being treated and attempted to interrogate him – with no legal counsel present.

Seeking justice for torture victims, Ruziev has filed a number of complaints against security service officials and police officers, in particular a former high-ranking officer who allegedly has committed torture, ill-treatment and other degrading treatment on several occasions. The officer in question responded with death threats. Last year, on June 10 and 12, and then on November 4, this officer leveled a firearm at Ruziev’s head and threatened to kill him in a bid to make Ruziev end his efforts to ensure accountability for the reported human rights violations.

Following the death threats, Ruziev filed a complaint against the former high-ranking officer to the administration of the security services. Because of the failure of the security services to react to his complaint, Ruziev filed a lawsuit against the security services in February 2020. The next month, on March 11, as Ruziev later learned, the security services opened a criminal case of forgery against him, leading to the May 29 detention of the human rights defender.

The persecution of Ruziev fits into a pattern where authorities in Kyrgyzstan retaliate against journalists and human rights defenders for seeking justice and shedding light on human rights violations. It is also part of a worrying trend, in Kyrgyzstan and elsewhere, where human rights defenders face increasingly larger risks while carrying out their work. Recognizing the increased pressure on human rights defenders around the world, the United Nations Human Rights Committee last autumn adopted by consensus a resolution on strengthening the protection of human rights defenders urging states to “investigate in a prompt, effective, independent and accountable manner, complaints and allegations regarding threats or human rights violations perpetrated against human rights defenders”.
“Instead of retaliating against our colleague for seeking justice, the Kyrgyzstani authorities  should guarantee his safety and initiate credible and swift investigations into his allegations of the intimidation and other human rights violations perpetrated by security services and police”, said Gunnar Ekeløve-Slydal, acting Secretary General and Head of Policy at the NHC.
The groups issuing this statement are also concerned that the security service is in charge of the pre-trial investigation in Ruziev’s case. Given the complaints the defender has filed against the service, there are serious doubts about its impartiality in this case. In addition, according to article 153 part 1 of Kyrgyzstan’s Criminal Procedure Code, crimes of forgery fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, not under that of the security services.





22.5.20

A missed opportunity : France's return of Gulnara Karimova's illegally acquired assets:



The NGO’s Transparency International France (TI-F), Sherpa, the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA), the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), the International StateCrime Initiative (ISCI), the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights (UGF) and Civil Forum on Asset Recover are highly concerned over the opacity of French-Uzbek negotiations in the return of Gulnara Karimova’s illicit assets to Uzbekistan. This also includes concerns over the French modality for overseeing the asset restitution to Uzbekistan; as well as the lack of transparency in the disbursement and monitoring of returned funds by Uzbekistan.

On Thursday 14 May 2020, the Uzbek authorities announced that they had received US$10 million from France in the return of "illegally acquired" assets of Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the former President of Uzbekistan. The announcement follows a 9 July 2019 decision by the French court to approve the confiscation of property acquired by Gulnara Karimova, through money derived from corruption and ordered its return, as compensation, to the Republic of Uzbekistan, who had filed a civil suit. Karimova – currently serving a prison term in Uzbekistan – is accused of soliciting bribe payments from three telecommunications companies with approximately a billion USD’s under investigation.

This first asset restitution by France to a receiving country could have been an opportunity to establish a transparent and accountable mechanism and ensure that the returned assets would ultimately benefit the Uzbek population. This unfortunately did not take place.

The confiscation of Gulnara Karimova's three properties in France was decided in the context of the French criminal procedure of the comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité (CRPC), a French equivalent of a "guilty plea". A trial in open court was replaced by a closed-door negotiation between the French judicial authorities, the legal representative of the three civil real estate companies that had acquired real estate properties on behalf of G. Karimova, and the Uzbek state. The acceleration of the restitution of Gulnara Karimova's assets was thus achieved at the expense of transparency and accountability. The NGO Sherpa, a civil party in the Karimova case since 2014, was unable to be present at the CRPC's approval hearing, as the NGO was temporarily refused the renewal of its legal accreditation, a prerequisite for anti-corruption associations to bring a civil action in cases of corruption.

Marc-André Feffer, President of TI-F states, "the lack of transparency inherent in this restitution is damaging and paradoxical. It is damaging because there is currently no guarantee that this money will actually be used to benefit the looted populations. Paradoxical, because TI-F is currently lobbying the French government for the establishment of a responsible system for the restitution of ill-gotten property. Such a system must be transparent, accountable and involve French and local independent NGOs to ensure that the funds returned are allocated to projects that benefit the population".

This episode contrasts with France's recent momentum in the area of asset restitution and is a missed opportunity for the French authorities to set an example in the fight against global corruption and money laundering.

The "ill-gotten gains "cases have demonstrated the importance in the role of NGOs, particularly as initiators of legal proceedings such as bring civil action cases when the French public prosecutor's office has been inactive; and which also guarantees the transparency and smooth running of the proceedings. The role of NGOs and independent civil society is also essential when considering the restitution of assets in countries that do not necessarily offer guarantees of exemplary behaviour", says Franceline Lepany, President of the NGO Sherpa.

Despite the recent change in power, Uzbekistan remains ranked 153rd out of 180 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Uzbek and French civil society organisations therefore insist on the importance of guarantees of transparency, accountability and integrity in the return of funds to ensure that they do not fall back into the channels of corruption.

Today, it is clear that such minimum guarantees are not in place. The CRPC negotiations in 2019 covered several tens of millions of euros, a minor part of the approximately 1.3 billion dollars that Gulnara Karimova is suspected of having acquired illegally and invested abroad. Despite the size of the sums involved, and the suspicions that several senior Uzbek officials were involved in the disputed corruption schemes, France has not provided any information regarding the restitution process, while the Uzbek authorities have merely indicated that the 10 million dollars returned would be "transferred to the Uzbek state budget.

According to Nadejda Atayeva, President of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, "In the absence of transparency and accountability, there is a severe concern that returned assets could be at risk of misappropriation and re-laundering. Such modalities for return would set a dangerous precedent in the return of corrupt assets to authoritarian regimes, not only by France but also by other neighbouring European countries. This is despite warnings by several Uzbek and international NGO’s and leading academics voicing concerns over the lack of credible governance reform in Uzbekistan and its potential impact on responsible asset return, with particular questions raised regarding high-ranking officials and members of the Uzbek President’s family".

Switzerland, which has confiscated several hundred million Swiss Francs from Gulnara Karimova’s associates, has at least provided minimum transparency a press release announcing the restitution of confiscated funds. The current French response sets a worrying precedent.





1.3.20

Uzbekistan: another suicide of a prisoner - in prison KIN-2


An independent investigation on the cause of death of the prisoner Khazhiakbar Ishanhodzhaev must be launched immediately and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

Sergey Ignatyev 
In early January 2020, prisoner Khozhiakbar Shukhratovich ISHANHODZHAYEV (born 1993) died in a penitentiary institution KIN-2, located in the Shaykh Ali village of Karshi in the Kashkadarya region.

The cause of death is multiple burns to the body.  First, efforts to save Ishankhodjaev were made in the city hospital in Karshi, then he was transported by train to the prison hospital - to the “Sangorod”, where he died in torment.

As it became known, on December 30, 2019, Khozhiakbar Ishankhodjaev was in a hut, where he performed the duties of the so-called “capter,” that is, responsible for economic activity.  When all the other prisoners were at breakfast, he doused himself with a solvent and set himself on fire.

Such a desperate step was prompted by prolonged bullying and discrimination by the deputy head of the colony, Akmal Ochilov. Regarding these circumstances Ishanhodzhayev repeatedly told his relatives - Ochilov was engaged in extortion and constantly mocked him, humiliating his human dignity.

The day before, the Ochilov called Ishankhodjaev to his office and demanded that two mobile telephones submitted by the prisoners before the shift be handed over.  For failure to comply with the order, Ochilov threatened to place Ishankhodzhaev in a specially designated place in the barracks for the “offended” - the so-called prisoners under article 120 (“Sodomy”) and those who were subjected to acts of sexual abuse, which was probably the last step of the prisoner to self-immolation.

Departmental officials are not interested in publicizing the death of Ishankhodzhaev, especially on the eve of the 128th session of the UN Human Rights Committee, which will consider the report of the Government of Uzbekistan on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The real reasons behind Khozhiakbar Ishanhodzhaev's imprisonment are still to be investigated.  So far, it is only known that on May 28, 2015, Khozhiakbar Ishanhodzhaev was sentenced to 16 years in prison under article 119 part 4 (“Forcible satisfaction of sexual needs in an unnatural form”) of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan.  And it is also known from the prisoners of the colony where Ishanhodzhayev died that he was imprisoned on charges based on a false denunciation of a former female living partner - in retaliation for failed marriage plans.

Investigations into deaths of prisoners are almost always conducted formally.  The absence of transparent monitoring of prison conditions and lack of operational legal mechanisms for protection against torture lead to suicide, and those responsible for this remain unpunished.

Association for Human Rights in Central Asia - AHRCA expresses concern about the ongoing torture and ill-treatment of prisoners in Uzbekistan.