DUSHANBE, October 19, 2013, Asia-Plus — Two prison inmates in the Tajik northern Sughd province have received additional sentences in a case linked to allegations of prison torture, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports.
Sadriddin Toshev and Sunattulo Rizoyev were found guilty of distributing false information and sentenced to seven and nine years in jail, respectively, on October 18.
Toshev and Rizoev are accused of distributing videos showing injuries sustained by inmates after allegedly being beaten by prison guards.
They say they are innocent.
Investigators say the videos are fabrications.
The videos were distributed after an inmate, Hamza Ikromzoda, died in a detention center in Dushanbe in September 2012.
Ikromzoda”s family members insist his body bore traces of torture, while an official autopsy said he had committed suicide.
Tajik human rights organizations have urged the government to thoroughly investigate suspicious deaths of inmates in custody.
