Appendix V. Reply from Prosecutor General’s OfficeUnofficial translation from the Russian by Human Rights Watch Answers provided by the Office of the General Prosecutor of the Republic of Uzbekistan to questions raised on July 20, 2007 by Holly Cartner, Director of the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch. In answer to questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7In accordance with the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which the Republic of Uzbekistan has acceded, Article 235 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in which torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is understood according to the definition of these terms as they appear in the aforementioned convention, was adopted into the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on 30.08.2003 and responsibility for these types of criminal acts was established, in particular: “The use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, namely unlawful psychological or physical coercion of suspects, the accused, witnesses, victims or any other participant in the investigation process, or any person serving his/her sentence or their close relatives, by threats, beatings, torture or other unlawful acts committed by the investigator, investigation officers, prosecutor or other law-enforcement agents, or any correctional institutions in order to extract information or a confession, to carry out extrajudicial punishments for a committed crime or to force suspects to commit certain actions, will be punished with corrective labor or imprisonment for up to three years. Those acts, committed: a) with violence, harmful to one’s life or health, or threat of such violence; b) fueled by national, racial, religious or social discrimination; c) by groups of individuals d) repeatedly e) directed at minors or women, whose pregnancy is known to the suspect will be punished by imprisonment for three to five years. Acts which result in severe physical harm or any other serious consequence, that fall under either the first or second part of this article, are to be punished by imprisonment for five to eight years with deprivation of certain rights. Moreover, by Order 112-F of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, issued on 24.02.2004, an interdepartmental working group headed by the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan was founded to investigate whether and to what extent law-enforcement agents uphold human rights standards. The group developed a plan to implement the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which was approved by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan on March 9, 2004. Official documents, designed to strengthen the prosecutor’s authority in this field, were approved. In particular, the Prosecutor General’s Order 40 of February 17, 2005 “On the core improvement of the prosecutor’s authority to ensure the rights and freedom of persons involved in a criminal procedure” states that prosecuting/investigating officers must strictly follow and implement the principles of the aforementioned UN Convention. Complaints/statements on the unlawful acts/behavior of law-enforcement and administrative agents submitted by citizens to the prosecutor are reflected in the data below:
The remaining submitted complaints/statements of unlawful acts concerned officers of other security and administrative agencies. As a result of investigating the aforementioned complaints/statements, criminal charges were brought upon those who used threats and other methods of pressure (according to Article 235 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan): In 2002 – 1 case against 1 person; in 2003, four cases against four persons; in 2004, three cases against three persons, in 2005, three cases against five persons, in 2006, six cases against 9 persons, and in the first half of 2007, three cases against 4 persons. In total there were 20 criminal cases against 26 persons. As a result of unverifiable complaints/statements, no criminal charges were pressed: in 2002 - 1022 complaints, 2003 - 1143, in 2004 - 1878, in 2005 -1203, in 2006 - 1313, in the first half of 2007 – 713. The remaining complaints/statements are currently being considered or have been transferred to other governmental departments. As a result of investigations into citizens’ statements and complaints, disciplinary action was taken against 543 law-enforcement officers in 2002, 653 in 2003, 343 in 2004, 301 in 2005, 134 in 2006, and 90 in the first half of 2007. It should also be noted that disciplinary action was not taken against law-enforcement officers for threats and other methods of pressure. As pointed out above, criminal cases were opened in response to all confirmed instances of torture and threats. The prosecutor’s office, in collaboration with other law-enforcement agencies, systematically studies the conditions and reasons for arbitrary arrest and detention and takes appropriate measures to prevent and stop this from happening. This work is carried out in collaboration with the Human Rights Representative of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Ombudsman). In answer to Question 6In 18 criminal cases, judges of the Republic of Uzbekistan convicted 23 persons who received various sentences, including: 12 persons were sentenced to prison terms, one was fined, one was ordered to carry out corrective labor, 3 persons were – under Article 72 – given suspended sentences, 5 persons were released under amnesty, one person was released under the provision in Article 65 (Release from criminal liability due to loss of socially dangerous nature by the act or by the person who committed thereof) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan. One criminal case of this type involving one person is currently under consideration of the court. Moreover, in one case investigative agencies accused two people in absentia of violating Article 235 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and have put them on a wanted list. Currently, work on this case has been halted according to p. 2 part 1 of Article 364 of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (the location of the accused is unknown). Following are some examples of law-enforcement officers who were held accountable for committing such crimes: E. Normuradov, acting director of a local police station of the Department for Prevention of Violations of the Law for the Khavast district of the Syrdaria province Internal Affairs Department, abused his power, when on April 18, 2007 he unlawfully detained citizens D. Lyumanov, Z. Bozheiv, Zh. Tuichiev and A. Isroilov in the department of internal affairs, and by threatening and beating them, compelled them to confess to burglary. E. Normuradov was brought to trial under Articles 206 (abuse of power or work privileges) and 235 (use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan. For a similar crime, Kh. Malikov, Head of the Angor ROVD of Surkhandarina province, was held accountable. All officials, brought to court for such crimes, were relieved of their work duties during the investigation. In answer to Question 8For the period indicated, citizens did not address the prosecutor’s office with requests for compensation. In answer to Question 9The activities of the Prosecutor General’s office are carried out under the laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the office of the Prosecutor General,” additional orders, the Prosecutor General’s instructions, and other documents. Involvement of the prosecutor in investigations of criminal or civil court cases is one of the essential tasks of the prosecutor’s office (article 4 of the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office). Additionally, by order 21 of the Prosecutor General of May 11, 2004 “on raising the effectiveness of the Prosecutor General’s involvement in court proceedings,” a procedure was established for supporting the state’s charges in court and for verifying that all court decisions are made according to the law. The main task before trial prosecutors is enabling courts to make decisions in full accordance with the law in every case, as well as to ensure adequate protection of the rights and legal interests of citizens, businesses, institutions, and organizations during trial. In cases where the accused party’s statement on being tortured or enduring other illegal ill-treatment during the initial investigation is made during a case hearing, the statement is verified by the judge and an appropriate decision is made. A trial prosecutor has the right to call for an investigation into the facts during the trial process. In answer to Questions 10 and 11From 2002 to 2006 and the first half of 2007, 30 suspects (5, 4, 1, 4, 9. 7) filed in complaints about torture and other unlawful behavior during their trials. The statements of 26 defendants were examined by the courts during criminal investigations, but no proof was found, rendering the allegations groundless. Criminal investigations were opened on four of the complaints and sent to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation. For example, the prosecutor’s office of the Nurbad region pressed criminal charges according to part 1 of Article 206 of the Uzbek Criminal Code on July 15, 2006 against neighborhood inspector of the Nurabad ROVD B. Mustafaev, who physically assaulted and beat D. Sh. Berdiev, a minor, on July 11, 2006 while he was intoxicated. An investigation was led by the regional prosecutor’s office and B. Mustafaev was charged with Articles 2b.206 and 2d.235 of the Uzbek Criminal Code on August 9, 2006 and released on bail. As a result of this investigation, Mr. B. Mustafaev was found guilty of physically assaulting a minor and causing him bodily harm and ordered to pay a fine. Officers of the ROVD A Eshankulov (09.09.2006) of the Maiari district of the Samarkand region and N. Pardaev (10.06.2002) of the Chilanzar district of Tashkent were brought to criminal justice for similar crimes. During the investigation, opened on behalf of Mr. Z. Mamadaliev, who accused officers of the department of internal affairs of the Balikshinskii district of ill-treating him, the prosecutor’s office of the Balikchin district of the Andijan province found these allegations unfounded, and closed the criminal case on March 9, 2006 in accordance with point 2 of article 83 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan for lack of proof of a crime. In answer to Question 12In accordance with the norms of the national criminal procedural laws, any person suspected of a crime has the right to qualified legal council. If the guilty party or suspect is in detention, the lawyer has the right to unrestricted access to him or her (Article 53 of the Uzbek Criminal Code). According to Article 10 (“guaranteeing the right to have legal representation”) of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the accused has the right to receive qualified legal council from a lawyer, with whom the accused may meet by request without restriction. In addition, the detention facility administration, according to the general rules, may not refuse to grant such meetings with his/her lawyer, who in turn has the right to provide legal aid to the detained. |