Police officers are being tried for torture

A court in Tajikistan is examining the involvement of police officers in the death of 37-year-old resident of Kulob, Abdukakhhor Rozikov.

The Kulob city court has begun hearing the case of three police officers suspected in the death of Abdukakhhor Rozikov. They are accused of torturing Rozikov. Until now, authorities have denied that the deceased died as a result of torture in the police station and claimed that he died from a drug overdose.

On June 5, “Asia-Plus,” citing Umed Niyozov, the lawyer for the Rozikov family, reported that “the investigation has charged three police officers – Shamshod Sharifov, Zafar Kholov, and Jamshid Karamatov under Article 143, Supplement 1, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan (torture).”

Previously, they were charged with “exceeding official authority” (Article 316, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan).

“Later, during the preliminary investigation, investigators prepared charges under Article 143, Supplement 1, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan (torture) and submitted them to the court. The court proceedings are ongoing,” the lawyer for the Rozikov family reported.

On the night of January 2, 2023, officers of the Kulob Department of Internal Affairs detained 37-year-old Abdukakhhor Rozikov at his home, and just a few hours later, they delivered his body to the city morgue.

His relatives reported that Abdukakhhor Rozikov died as a result of torture in the police station, as there were signs of torture and abuse on his body.

However, on January 3, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that “citizen A. Rozikov had consumed an excessive dose of the drug amphetamine (crystal) before his detention, as a result of which he died on the way to the Department of Internal Affairs for the Khatlon region in Kulob.” His relatives deny this.

Later, on January 3, dozens of residents of Kulob gathered at the local morgue demanding to find and punish those responsible for the death of their relative. That same evening, authorities showed the relatives of the deceased the detained police officers, and then the relatives took the body of the deceased from the morgue.

However, later law enforcement agencies released Zafar Kholov and Jamshid Karamatov under a travel ban, leaving only Shamshod Sharifov in custody.

On January 30, about a hundred people gathered outside the Kulob city hall demanding a fair investigation into the death of local resident Abdukakhhor Rozikov and the detention of police officers responsible for Rozikov’s death.