DUSHANBE, November 17, 2010, Asia-Plus — Ilhom Ismonov, a Russian citizen, has reportedly been tortured by police in the northern Sughd province of Tajikistan and continues to be at risk, a statement released by Amnesty International on November 15 said. His lawyer has been denied access to him.
According to the NGO Center for Human Rights of Sughd province, on November 3, Ilhom Ismonov disappeared and his family was not told his whereabouts. On November 4, two men came to his family”s house and made an inventory of his possessions without presenting any official documents. They told Ilhom Ismonov’s wife that he was being held at the office of the Interior Ministry department for the fight against organized crime in Khujand.
On November 4, Ilhom Ismonov’s wife hired a lawyer, but despite several attempts the she has reportedly only seen her client in court on November 12, when the judge authorized his further detention.
On November 5 a representative of the Center for Human Rights of Sughd province tried to meet with him, but was also denied access. The same day, when Ilhom Ismonov”s wife and brother went to the detention facility in Khujand to provide him with food and clothing, a policeman reportedly asked them to bring some ointment for injuries and pain killers.
Ilhom Ismonov”s relatives have been denied access to him many times, but they were able to see him twice. They said that he was unable to walk, had several cuts on his neck, his hands were bruised, his whole body was wet and there was water on the floor. His wife reported that when she asked to look at his feet police stopped the visit and escorted them out. When she asked the police what they had done to her husband they reportedly made fun of her and said: “You should say thank you to us that we showed you your husband. Now, go. We also need time to rest.”
According to a source present at the court hearing on November 12, Ilhom Ismonov told the judge that he was tortured including by giving him electric shocks and pouring boiling water over his body. The judge reportedly turned down Ilhom Ismonov’s offer to show him evidence of torture on his body. The judge did not address the torture allegations and said that the lawyer should take it up with the police investigator.
The judge ruled on November 13 that allegations that he had been detained since 3 November rather than November 9, as the police had stated, should be investigated. According to Tajikistan’s Criminal Procedure, detainees have to be brought before a judge to rule on their continued detention no later than 72 hours after their arrest. The court announced that Ilhom Ismonov was charged with “organizing a criminal group” (Article 187 of the Penal Code of Tajikistan).
We will recall that the Sughd prosecutor’s office has instituted criminal proceedings Ilhom Ismonov, who is suspected of being an activist of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. According to the Sughd police directorate, the criminal proceedings have been instituted against Ismonov under the provisions of two articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 36 (5) – criminal complicity and Article 187 (2) – organizing a criminal group. The source at the Sughd police directorate says the 32-year-old Ilhom Ismonov who has previous conviction of hooliganism was member of IMU under the pseudonym of “Hamza.” “In August 2010, Ismonov met in Moscow with the head of the IMU regional cell in Tajikistan, Ismon Azimov, who is on the wanted persons list,” said the source, “On return to Tajikistan, Ilhom Ismonov began to fulfill orders of the criminal underground.”
