Human rights activists said that the leader in the use of torture in Tajikistan is the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Law enforcement agencies, prison guards and officers of military units of Tajikistan practice rape, threats of rape, leaving in cold water for one to two days, putting on the head gas mask, cauterizing the body with cigarettes. And also sticking the mouth with scotch tape, turning the hands behind back and tying the legs and hands with a belt Reported the Coalition of Civil Society Against Torture and Impunity in Tajikistan in its report issued on August 17.
In Tajikistan, during the first three months of this year, 38 new cases of torture and ill-treatment were documented, the Coalition of Civil Society Against Torture and Impunity notes, Which was established in September 2011 to consolidate the efforts of civil society to combat torture and impunity in the country.
According to the authors of the report, in the case of 13 of the 15 victims directly affected by torture, physical torture was used – beating with the binding of legs and hands, transmission current through the nails on the hands and in the inguinal part of the body. And also beatings in the head, dousing with water, beatings on the kidneys and abdomen, beatings through putting the book to the stomach and to the head (the crown), beatings on the face.
Two men were subjected to psychological torture, such as threats, verbal humiliation and insult, obscene language. The remaining relatives of the victims received psychological trauma, as a result of which 8 victims had medical problems, report of Coalition says.
The victims complained most of all about the use of torture in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan (28, of them Office for Combating Organized Crime – 6). Torture was also used by the military units of the Ministry of Defense (2), the Border Guards of the State National Security Committee (1), the State National Security Committee (1) and the secondary school (1).
Two female victims of torture applied to human rights defenders. With regard to both, torture and ill-treatment were associated with a threat of sexual violence, and one of them was forced to have sexual intercourse in exchange for mitigating criminal punishment, the report says.
They torture, and then prevent lawyers from working
It is reported that for the first time in the practice of the activity of the group of legal assistance of the Coalition, lawsuits have been prepared for compensation of moral harm for an ineffective investigation of criminal cases.
For the first half of 2017, decisions were made on compensation for damage in 2 cases that were appealed; 4 cases are maintained; поданы всуд, Judicial hearings on 3 cases are expected, including 2 – for collecting moral damages for an ineffective investigation; At the stage of preparation – 13 cases.
Rehabilitation courses were conducted by 24 people, including 5 minors.
Human rights activists note that law enforcement officers create barriers in the activities of lawyers when providing legal assistance and access to clients.
There is a problem with getting acquainted with the materials of the inspection when the case is brought to judicial instances. In law enforcement bodies, they urge detainees to abandon a lawyer who is active and principled, the authors of the report write.
The authorities recognize the problem
In June, the Coalition of Civil Society Against Torture and Impunity in Tajikistan held an action "I am against torture today, tomorrow, always!" within the framework of the project "Combining the efforts of civil society in monitoring the implementation of Tajikistan's national and international obligations in the field of human rights", Which is implemented by the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR, Belgium) in cooperation with the Public Fund "Notabene" and the Public Organization "Independent Center for the Protection of Human Rights" with the support of the European Union.
Within the framework of the action, on a large street monitor in the capital – near the hotel "Tajikistan", TV "Safina" and the monument Ismoili Somoni, a video was reproduced with an excerpt from President Emomali Rahmon's appeal to law enforcement agencies about the inadmissibility of torture.
On June 28, in Khorog and Vahdat, photo exhibitions were organized with stories of those who died or became cripples during detention, during interrogations in police stations, military service and serving time in prisons.
Earlier, the Coalition compiled a map of the possible use of torture and ill-treatment in the country. Human rights activists, analyzing the situation, came to the conclusion that most of all torture and other ill-treatment are used at the stage of detention and inquiry. And this is due to the fact that the legal conflict in terms of "detention" allowed law enforcement officers "to arbitrarily interpret their actions on the actual restriction of the freedom of movement of citizens".
The authorities of Tajikistan recognize the problem of torture and take certain measures, however, according to experts of the international human rights organization Amnesty International, the steps taken by the government are still ineffective.
