The Coalition of Civil Society Against Torture and Impunity in Tajikistan has called for an effective, independent investigation and the accountability of those responsible for the death of a Kulob resident while in police custody.
According to the Coalition's website, on the morning of March 12, 2025, three officers from the police station in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district with support from colleagues in Kulob, detained Safarkhon Hasanov at the Ghairat Shopping Center in Kulob. The arrest was made without any explanation. After a brief detention in the Kulob police station, Hasanov was transported to Dushanbe in a BMW vehicle.
The full names of the police officers involved remain unknown, though two of the officers were identified as Firouz and Bahrom Sharifov, with a third officer having a noticeable scar on his right cheek.
Hasanov’s family learned of the detention through random witnesses. On the same day, around 10:00 pm, the family was informed of Hasanov’s death from a "heart attack during questioning," though the detention was never officially confirmed to the relatives.
When Hasanov’s sons inspected his body at the morgue of the Shahraki Shifobakhsh Hospital, they documented signs of an autopsy and multiple bruises and injuries on different parts of his body, including his feet.
Before his arrest, Hasanov had with him a mobile phone and 12,000 somonis in cash, which were later missing.
The family filed complaints with the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the local authorities of Dushanbe, and President’s Office. However, the Prosecutor’s Office of Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni District, which took over the case, refused to initiate a criminal investigation, citing the "lack of criminal elements."
The Coalition against Torture and Impunity in Tajikistan provided legal assistance to the family, offering a lawyer and continuing to push for a fair investigation. Despite their efforts, the Prosecutor's Office has refused to pursue the case, and the Prosecutor-General’s Office has seized the case materials, which remain formally inactive.
The Coalition has called for an effective, independent investigation and the accountability of those responsible for Hasanov’s death.
