DUSHANBE, September 14, 22011, Asia-Plus — Ilhom Ismanov was detained by officers from the Sughd regional organized crime control department on November 3, 2010 on suspicion of being member of a terrorist group.
Amnesty International released a statement on November 15, 2010 noting that Ilhom Ismanov, a Russian citizen, has reportedly been tortured by police in the northern Sughd province of Tajikistan and his lawyer has been denied access to him.
Meanwhile, official structures have denied that statement as baseless and claimed that medical examination did not confirm that.
Ismanov’s relatives, however, say the medical examination was carried out on November 27, 2010 when signs of torture vanished.
The trial of Ilhom Ismanov began in July this year and some 50 people were questioned during the trial and according to some data, many of them told the court that they were giving evidence during the preliminary investigation under physical and psychological pressure and repudiated their testimony during the trial.
Zarina Najmidinova, the wife of Ilhom Ismanov, has told Asia-Plus that she was supposed to give evidence in the court hearing yesterday as the witness for the defense but a prosecutor in the trial asked for not questioning her. “He justified that by saying that my statement during the preliminary investigation was confirmed just partially, and therefore, there is not point in questioning me,” Ms. Najmiddinova said.
According to her, her husband was detained for 10 days illegally and during that time, he was ill-treated. “I have applied to different instances, up to the president. I then received letter from the Ministry of Interior and the Prosecutor-General’s Office noting that my statement was confirmed partially and disciplinary action will be imposed upon those guilty but the fact of use of torture against my husband was not confirmed. But it is not right,” Ismanov’s wife said.
Ilhom Ismanov is charged with having ties to Ismon Azimov, a regional leader of the Islamic Party of Turkistan, who has been wanted since April 2010 for organization of a criminal group. Ilhom Ismanov allegedly met with Ismon Azimov in Moscow in August 2010 and received two mobile phones and DVD disc from him; by order of a certain Suhrob Vahhobov, Ismanov then handed over them to a certain Abdulloh. Suhrob Vahhobov was killed in the village of Kuruki Bolo in Isfara district on October 28, 2010 while resisting arrest.
