QURGHON TEPPA, October 2012, Asia-Plus — Bedilkhon Odinayev, one of the defense lawyers of the Yovon police inspector Mashraf Aliyev who was jailed for torturing underage boy, believes that their client is innocent of the charges brought against him and ask to quit Aliyev and release him from a jail.
According to him, he has lodged supervisory appeal to the Supreme Court.
We will recall that a court in the Yovon district, Khalton province sentenced Mashraf Aliyev to seven years in prison on September 6. The sentence followed his conviction on charges of torture (Article 143” of Tajikistan’s Penal Code) and exceeding authority (Article 316).
The police inspector was jailed for torturing and ill-treating a 17 year old boy on April 27, 2012.
This is the first time an official has been charged with the crime of torture since the Article on Torture in line with international legal standards was introduced into Tajikistan’s Penal Code in March of this year.
On April 27, the 17-year-old boy was detained on suspicion of theft by a police officer in Yovon, Khatlon province and questioned without a lawyer in the police duty office in Yovon. He was allegedly beaten in order to make him confess. On April 28, he was recalled to the police station where the beatings allegedly continued. The boy did not tell anyone about his ill-treatment but on April 29, he attempted suicide. He survived and was taken to hospital.
According to a statement released by Amnesty International (AI) on September 14 says medical expertise was carried out on April 30, and a forensic examination was carried out on May 28 which found evidence that serious bodily injuries had been inflicted on the boy.
The police inspector was also found guilty under Article 316 – exceeding official authority. He was banned from working in the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for a period of five years.
