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Amnesty International shattered lives toRtURE an d ot hER Il l-t REatmEnt In taJIkIstan amnesty international is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the universal declaration of human rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. First published in 2012 by amnesty international ltd Peter Benenson house 1 easton street london WC1X 0dW united kingdom © amnesty international 2012 index: eur 60/004/2012 english original language: english Printed by amnesty international, international secretariat, united kingdom all rights reserved. this publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy, campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale. the copyright holders request that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, or for reuse in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable. to request permission, or for any other inquiries, please contact [email protected] this publication was supported by a grant from the open society Foundations Cover phot o: street scene in dushanbe, tajikistan, 2010. © rina Boyan amnesty.org CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................................5 Methodology and sources of information.......................................................................6 1. Tajikistan’s international obligations and steps to implement them at the domestic Level.8 1.1 International standards.........................................................................................8 1.2 Key principles in domestic legislation prohibiting torture .........................................9 1.3 Government action.............................................................................................10 2. The Scale of torture and other ill-treatment in Tajikistan .............................................12 2.1 Torture or other ill-treatment by police .................................................................14 2.1.1 Pressure to solve crimes...............................................................................14 2.1.2 Pervasive corruption.....................................................................................15 2.2 Torture or other ill-treatment used in the context of national security and counter- terrorism.................................................................................................................17 2.2.1 Human rights violations by officers of the security forces .................................17 2.3 Torture methods ................................................................................................18 3. Inadequate safeguards against torture .......................................................................20 3.1 Incommunicado detention ..................................................................................20 3.2 Use of administrative arrest as a cover for unofficial criminal interrogations .............23 3.3 Detention of people “as witnesses”......................................................................23 3.4 Delay in access to legal counsel ..........................................................................24 3.4.1 Denying and delaying access to legal advice in MIA specialist departments and SCNS facilities, offices and interrogation rooms.......................................................26 3.4.2 Right to unrestricted and confidential communication with lawyer ....................28 3.5 Notification of family and visits...........................................................................29 3.6 Insufficient and delayed medical examinations..................................................... 29 3.6.1 Pressure on medical experts......................................................................... 32 3.7 Anonymity of arresting officers............................................................................ 33 4. Need for national and international monitoring .......................................................... 35 5. Judges: guardians of justice? ................................................................................... 37 5.1 Remand hearings: a formality that provides little protection from torture ................. 37 5.2 Pre-trial detention should be exceptional ............................................................. 38 5.3 Judges should act on allegations and signs of torture ............................................ 40 5.3.1 Failure to investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment at remand hearings 40 5.3.2 Confessions and testimony obtained under torture or other ill-treatment used in court .................................................................................................................. 41 6. Denial of the right to a remedy................................................................................. 43 6.1 Failure to carry out effective investigations........................................................... 44 6.1.2 Intimidation of those who speak out about torture ......................................... 46 6.2 Failure to bring perpetrators of torture and other ill-treatment to justice.................. 47 6.3 Pressure on journalists who report on cases of torture and ill-treatment................... 50 7. Failure to act on requests, recommendations and decisions by the UN Human Rights Committee................................................................................................................. 52 8. Torture and other ill-treatment upon return to Tajikistan............................................. 55 9. Conclusions and Recommendations.......................................................................... 59 Recommendations................................................................................................... 59 Endnotes................................................................................................................... 64 GLOSSARY UN HRC UN Human Rights Committee CAT Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment CPC Criminal Procedural Code ECtHR European Court of Human Rights MIA Ministry of Internal Affairs ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights IMU Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan IVS Temporary detention facility in police stations under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs OVD Department of Internal Affairs at the MIA OPCAT Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment NGO Non-governmental organization Sixth Department/UBOP Department for the Fight against Organised Crime of the MIA SIZO Pre-trial detention facility under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Justice SCNS State Committee for National Security 4 SHATTERED LIVES Torture and other ill-treatment in Tajikistan Amnesty International July 2012 Index: EUR 60/004/2012 SHATTERED LIVES 5 Torture and other ill-treatment in Tajikistan INTRODUCTION “ The Police have become a source of threat, not of protection.” Mother of a victim of torture, Tajikistan 2011. “The torture and violence that I experienced at the hands of police left their trace in my life […] in those terrible days and nights I was all alone with my grief. Living in the 21st century and ending up in such a situation, I felt like the most humiliated, disenfranchised, unhappy person on the planet. ” Extract from the November 2010 testimony of a man who reported being tortured in September 2008 As a state party to key human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Tajikistan (CAT) has undertaken to ensure torture and other ill- treatment do not occur. The Tajikistani Constitution and other legislation contain key provisions which reflect these commitments1. However, Amnesty International’s research shows that practices of torture and other ill- treatment remain widespread2 in all types of detention facilities in Tajikistan. Detainees at the early stages of detention were found to be at particular risk, subjected to torture or other ill-treatment by law enforcement officers in order to “solve” crimes by obtaining confessions of guilt and also to obtain money from torture victims or their relatives. The general climate of impunity keeps police abuse virtually unchecked3. While the new Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) that came into force in April 2010 provides a number of important safeguards against torture, significant gaps in domestic legislation remain. For example, at the time of writing, domestic law does not guarantee prompt access to independent medical examinations when allegations of torture are raised. Nor does it oblige judges to act upon allegations of torture or ill-treatment at custody hearings, resulting in judges often ignoring allegations of torture, claiming it is not in their remit to investigate such facts but merely to decide on the legality of detention. Existing provisions on the
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