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Accountability for Torturers

As a party to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Republic of Uzbekistan is obliged to monitor and prevent ill-treatment of those held in custody, and also to promptly and impartially investigate reasonable allegations of torture. They must also ensure that any individual who alleges he or she has been tortured is not further harmed as a result of a complaint to the authorities.¹⁶⁴ The government of Uzbekistan has stated in several recent documents described below that it holds those who torture accountable. Yet there is an enormous gap between even the official number of complaints about abuse filed and the very small number of law enforcement or security agents held responsible. In none of the cases documented in this report was anyone held responsible for the abuse.

Moreover, the authorities’ record of attempting to intimidate into silence torture victims and their advocates suggests that criminal justice institutions have no interest in investigating allegations against themselves and casts doubt on the credibility of statements by the government that it thoroughly and impartially investigates allegations of abuse. The utter lack of media freedoms in Uzbekistan means that there is no candid public debate on the widespread nature of torture, or on accountability for torture.

In theory, there are four potential domestic remedies available to those seeking redress for acts of torture. First, victims may appeal to the police themselves, who in principle are obliged to investigate any report of a criminal act. Secondly, victims may appeal to the prosecutor’s office, which is bound by the same obligation. Thirdly, victims facing criminal prosecution may appeal to the judge hearing their case. Fourthly, victims can apply in writing or in person to either of the two government human rights bodies established with financial support from the United Nations, the Office of the Ombudsman or the National Center for Human Rights. ¹⁶⁵ The staff of these institutions may, after gathering more information about the case, issue recommendations to the courts or the prosecutor’s office. In few cases, however, have these avenues been effective in investigating allegations, obtaining redress for the victim, ensuring the perpetrators are punished, or in preventing further acts of torture.

For example, Jurabek J., a witness in a murder case who was tortured by three police agents in early 2007, wanted to bring a complaint. When Jurabek was released after several days of interrogation, his neighborhood police officer visited him on a regular basis warning him not to complain anywhere. Jurabek J. told Human Rights Watch:

He would tell me that they will plant drugs and lock me up for good if I complained to anybody. When I told him that I was badly abused in custody and I was nearly handicapped, he would respond: “So what? You are a man. Can’t you understand, it’s a murder case that we need to solve?! If you complain we won’t be able to solve it.”¹⁶⁶

The family of Uchqun U., whose torture is also documented above, complained about Uchqun’s illegal arrest and torture in custody to the Presidential Administration the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Tashkent City Prosecutor’s Office, and other institutions. All responses resembled each other: A letter from the Presidential Administration dated June 15, 2007 says that the complaint was forwarded to the Office of the Prosecutor General. A letter from the Office of the Ombudsman dated June 13, 2007 says the complaint was forwarded to the Tashkent Province Procuracy. And a letter from the Tashkent City Procuracy dated June 5, 2007 says they received the forwarded letter from the Office of the Ombudsman and that the complaint was not well-founded. The letter further stated that Uchqun was not arrested illegally, but was detained because he did not have identity documents with him and committed “hooliganism.” Since he was not detained illegally, the complaint was not grounded. The Tashkent City Prosecutor’s Office did not comment on the allegations of physical abuse.¹⁶⁷

Police agents forced several individuals whose abuse is documented above—such as Tatyana T., Mirzo M., Rashid R., Bahodir B. and Uchqun U.—to sign documents stating that they were treated well in custody and would not complain about the police.

Uzbekistan government reports and documents provide varying statistics on accountability for torture and other ill-treatment. A letter from the Office of the Prosecutor General replying to Human Rights Watch’s request for clarification about such disparities stated that it had received a total of 16,252 complaints about “illegal actions by law enforcement and administrative agencies” from 2002 to 2007. The table of statistics provided in the table gave the following year-by-year breakdown:

• 3,059 in 2002,
• 3,277 in 2003,
• 3,427 in 2004,
• 3,070 in 2005,
• 2,275 in 2006 and
• 1,144 in the first half of 2007.¹⁶⁸

Of these, 523 complaints in 2002, 544 in 2003, 457 in 2004, 270 in 2005, 180 in 2006 and 102 in the first half of 2007 were related to the “use of threats and other pressure methods.”¹⁶⁹ According to these numbers the complaints to the Office of the Procecutor General have decreased by twenty five percent between 2002 and 2006. As is outlined above, it is difficult to verify these numbers and the decline they indicate due to the lack of transparency and access to information.

The letter further states that based on these complaints 20 criminal cases were opened and 26 individuals charged under Article 235 of the Criminal Code.¹⁷⁰ The investigations lead to 18 different court cases against a total of 23 individuals. Twelve individuals were sentenced to prison, one was sentenced to pay a fine, one was sentenced to corrective labor, three individuals were given a suspended sentence, five individuals came under amnesty and one individual was declared insane. One case against one individual is currently pending. Another two individuals are on a wanted list.¹⁷¹

The prosecutor’s office letter provides some descriptive detail for one of these cases, which took place in April 2007, in which a police chief in Syrdaria province was held accountable for illegally detaining four people and for beating them in an attempt to extract a confession for theft. It is also says that a district police chief in Surkhandaria was held accountable for “analogous illegal actions.”

According to figures provided by the government of Uzbekistan in its third periodic report to the United Nations Committee against Torture: “Altogether 11 employees of the law enforcement authorities were convicted under article 235 of the Criminal Code¹⁷² in 2004.”¹⁷³ The report does not mention the rank and position of the law enforcement authorities, what exactly it was determined that they had done, or the sentences they received. It is unclear why the number of convictions is not consistent with the figure provided in the letter from the Office of the Prosecutor General (three cases against three individuals in 2004).

The report goes on to state that: “Figures from the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan indicate that 15 individuals (all employees of the internal affairs authorities) have been convicted of offences under articles 234 and 235 of the Criminal Code (illegal detention in custody and coercion to testify).”¹⁷⁴ Again, the report does not give any information about the context and specifics of the cases. It also does not specify how many individuals were convicted under article 234 and how many under article 235. Finally the report mentions that: “Inquiries by procurators have revealed no incidents in which the penal correction authorities have used torture on detainees or convicts.”¹⁷⁵

The government’s third periodic report also contains a table with “Numbers of complaints and applications reaching the prosecutorial authorities, 2002-2004.” There appears to be considerable disparity among these numbers. For example, the figures provided for each sub-category of abuse do not add up to the aggregate figure of total complaints. Furthermore, the table provides figures for complaints that were “satisfactorily resolved” or “partly resolved,” without explaining what is meant by these terms. Nor does the report specify the nature of criminal or disciplinary proceedings brought in response to complaints.

In addition to the fact that only few perpetrators of torture or other ill treatment are ever held to account, torture victims have very little hope that they will be able to obtain adequate compensation for their ordeal or treatment for physical and emotional injury they endured.¹⁷⁶ Nor has the government taken steps to consider or implement a system of reparation or rehabilitation for the victims of torture. Responding to Human Rights Watch’s request for information about how many individuals received compensation for torture or ill-treatment and the level of compensation, the Office of the Prosecutor General answered that between 2002 and 2007 it has not received a single request for compensation.¹⁷⁷ This statement corroborates our research. None of the torture victims Human Rights Watch has interviewed requested compensation from the authorities, fearing any further contact with the law enforcement authorities and harassment. Their only wish was to keep a low profile and in some cases to flee the country as soon as possible. They are all well aware of the fact that inside Uzbekistan they have nowhere to turn.