DUSHANBE, April 27, Asia-Plus – Two officers from Dushanbe’s Sino police directorate charged with having used torture to coerce a confession from a teenager suspect have been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment each.
A court in the Firdavsi district of Dushanbe on April 24 ruled that Captain Abduolim Qurbonov and Lieutenant Alisher Mazoriyev be given jail terms of two years each and that they will serve their sentences in a high-security penal colony.
The source at the Firdavsi district court said that the sentence had followed their conviction of on charges of abuse of office and use of violence.
Another police officer, Lieutenant Farrukh Shonikhmatov, who also stood the trial, got off with fine only. The court imposed a 6,000 somonis fine on him, according to the source.
As it had been reported earlier, these police officers were arrested on February 5 this year on suspicion of having used torture to coerce a confession from a teenage suspect. Dushanbe prosecutor Qurbonali Muhabbatov that time told Asia-Plus that the case had stemmed from the detention of 15-year-old Nodir Nabiyev on suspicion of theft in January. The prosecutor said the preliminary investigation had established that the officers had used torture and beatings to extort a confession from the teenager. He further added that it cannot be ruled out that they have also used electric shock during interrogations.
