Dedicated to the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, exhibitions of torture victim photos were held in three cities of Tajikistan – Dushanbe (Dushanbe-Plaza Center), Khujand (head office of Arvin Limited Liability Company) and Bokhtar (Maftouna Hotel) – on June 26. Eighteen stories about victims of torture were presented at those exhibitions.
An award ceremony for winners of the contest on the best material about problems of torture in Tajikistan as well as the most active visitor of the NGO Coalition against Torture in Tajikistan website (notorturetj.org) took place in Dushanbe on the sidelines of the event.
Representatives of the government bodies, non-government and international organizations active in Tajikistan and media have been invited to attend the events.
The NGO Coalition against Torture in Tajikistan has posted those eighteen stories about victims of torture on its website.
Ms. Gulchehra Kholmatova, a lawyer and representative of the NGO Coalition against Torture in Tajikistan, says the Coalition member organizations over the first quarter of this year documented sixteen complaints about use of torture. “Fourteen of those complaints were filed against police officers,” Ms. Kholmatova noted.
According to her, torture and ill-treatment are still used, and most frequently at the preliminary stage of investigation.
Besides, cases of violence and ill-treatment have become more frequent in the army, the lawyer added.
Mullorajab Yusufi, a reporter for Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, Sayrahmon Nazriyev, a reporter for Asia-Plus news agency and independent journalist Biloli Shams were announced as the winners of the contest on the best material about problems of torture in Tajikistan.
Civil activist, Ms. Khursheda Rahimova, was announced as the most active visitor of the NGO Coalition against Torture in Tajikistan website (notorturetj.org).
Organized by Tajikistan’s Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law (BHR), the first exhibition telling nine photo stories of victims of torture was held in Dushanbe on June 25, 2013. The stories were based on cases of six Tajik nationals – Hamzali Ikromzoda, Khurshed Bobokalonov, Bahromiddin Shodiyev, Safarali Sangov, Ismoil Bachajonov and Dilshodbek Murodov, who died during detention or in prison. Three other photo stories telling similar facts were provided by BHR’s partners from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
The United Nations International Day in Support of Torture is held annually on June 26 to speak out against the crime of torture and to honor and support victims and survivors throughout the world.
The day was selected by the United Nations General Assembly for two reasons. First, on June 26, 1945, the United Nations Charter was signed – the first international instrument obliging UN members to respect and promote human rights. Second, June 26, 1987 was when the United Nations Convention against Torture came into effect. The decision to annually observe the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture was taken by the UN General Assembly at the proposal of Denmark, which is home to the world-renowned International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT). The first 26 June events were launched in 1998. Since then, nearly 100 organization in dozens of countries all over the world mark the day each year with events, celebrations and campaigns.
This year, all UN anti-torture mechanisms and regional mechanisms speak with one voice, recalling the remarkable progress made towards the eradication of torture over the last 70 years, but also reminding that torture is not synonymous with the past.
