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“No One Left to Witness” RIGHTS Torture, the Failure of Habeas Corpus, and the Silencing of Lawyers in Uzbekistan WATCH

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“No One Left to Witness” RIGHTS Torture, the Failure of Habeas Corpus, and the Silencing of Lawyers in Uzbekistan WATCH Uzbekistan HUMAN “No One Left to Witness” RIGHTS Torture, the Failure of Habeas Corpus, and the Silencing of Lawyers in Uzbekistan WATCH “No One Left to Witness” Torture, the Failure of Habeas Corpus, and the Silencing of Lawyers in Uzbekistan Copyright © 2011 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-839-2 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org DECEMBER 2011 ISBN: 1-56432-839-2 “No One Left to Witness” Torture, the Failure of Habeas Corpus, and the Silencing of Lawyers in Uzbekistan Map of Uzbekistan ............................................................................................................................. 1 Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................ 8 Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 15 I. Background .................................................................................................................................. 18 “Systematic Torture” and the Call for Habeas Corpus .............................................................. 18 Documenting Torture in a Closed Country ............................................................................... 20 Fading International Pressure ................................................................................................. 22 European Union: Sanctions and Human Rights Criteria ..................................................... 23 Germany: Anti-Sanctions, Pro-Termez ............................................................................... 24 “Positive Steps” and “Dialogue” ..................................................................................... 26 United States: Restrictions on Aid for a “Country of Particular Concern” ............................ 27 Afghanistan and the End of Congressional Sanctions ....................................................... 29 II. The Failure of Habeas Corpus .......................................................................................................32 Habeas Corpus Amendments .................................................................................................. 34 A Core International Human Right ........................................................................................... 34 Uzbekistan’s Narrow Legal Standard ....................................................................................... 37 No Alternatives to Detention .................................................................................................. 40 Pre-Trial Detention: The Rule, Not the Exception ...................................................................... 42 Most Detention Petitions Approved ......................................................................................... 43 Length of Detention ................................................................................................................ 44 Using Administrative Charges to Avoid Habeas Corpus Review ................................................ 47 Violation of Right to an Impartial Tribunal .............................................................................. 48 Closed Hearings ..................................................................................................................... 50 Participation of Defense Lawyers ............................................................................................ 51 How One Lawyer’s Efforts to Represent Her Client Were Blocked ....................................... 54 Habeas without Corpus ........................................................................................................... 55 Right to Appeal ....................................................................................................................... 57 III. The Persistence of Torture ......................................................................................................... 58 Physical and Psychological Torture in Pre-Trial Custody .......................................................... 60 Beatings .......................................................................................................................... 61 Torture of “Abdumannob A.” ........................................................................................... 64 Asphyxiation ................................................................................................................... 64 Electric Shock .................................................................................................................. 65 Rape and Other Sexual Violence ...................................................................................... 66 Rape of Rayhon, Khosiyat, and Nargiza Soatova ............................................................... 68 Access to Counsel and the Right to Counsel of One’s Choice ................................................... 70 “Permission” to Visit a Client ............................................................................................ 70 Incommunicado Detention ............................................................................................... 73 “Miranda” Rights ............................................................................................................. 74 Courts’ Failure to Investigate Torture ....................................................................................... 76 Empty Habeas Hearings ................................................................................................... 77 Trial ................................................................................................................................. 78 Torture of Obitkhoja O. .................................................................................................... 80 IV. Dismantling Uzbekistan’s Independent Legal Profession ............................................................ 81 International and Uzbek Law on the Independence of Lawyers ............................................... 82 From Bar Association to “Quasi-Ministry” of Lawyers ............................................................... 83 Prohibition on Other Lawyers’ Associations ............................................................................ 84 Blacklisted Lawyers ................................................................................................................ 87 The Disbarment of Ruhiddin Komilov ............................................................................... 88 Disbarment of Rustam Tyuleganov ................................................................................... 90 Disbarred .............................................................................................................................. 92 Disciplinary Proceedings ....................................................................................................... 94 A Chilling Effect ...................................................................................................................... 95 Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... 98 Appendix: Human Rights Watch Letter to National Human Rights Center of Uzbekistan .................. 99 Map of Uzbekistan © 2011 Human Rights Watch 1 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | DECEMBER 2011 Summary For centuries, Uzbekistan was famed as a hub of trade and rich cultural exchange on the Silk Road connecting China to Western Europe. More recently, however, the Central Asian country has come to be known for something far darker: torture. Perhaps nothing brings the torture epidemic that plagues Uzbekistan’s police stations and prisons into more terrifying focus than photographs that local human rights defenders circulated in 2002 of Muzafar Avazov, a religious prisoner who died after he was submerged in boiling water by his prison interrogators. Those who saw Avazov’s body reported seeing a large, bloody wound on the back of his head, heavy bruising on his forehead and side of his neck, and hands with no fingernails. In 2003, a report by the United Nations special rapporteur on torture concluded that torture in Uzbekistan’s criminal justice system was both “systematic” and “widespread,” often occurring immediately
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