General involved in the torture of prisoners has died

The well-known Tajik general Izatullo Sharifzoda, better known in society by the nickname “Zorro,” has passed away.

In Tajikistan, former Deputy Minister of Justice and former head of the Main Directorate for the Execution of Sentences, Lieutenant General Izatullo Sharifzoda, died at the age of 72.

According to media reports, the funeral prayer (janaza) took place in his hometown of Pushing in the Danghara district.

The cause of the Tajik general’s death is currently unknown.

He began his career in the system of the Main Directorate for the Execution of Sentences of the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan, where he worked for 15 years.

After that, he transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. From 1997 to 2005, Sharifzoda served as the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city of Dushanbe.

After his service in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he returned to the Main Directorate for the Execution of Sentences as the head of the agency.

In 2018, he was dismissed with the wording “in connection with retirement.” Many linked his dismissal to the bloody uprising in the prison of the city of Khujand in 2018.

Independent media reported that the uprising in the Khujand prison erupted after several inmates were subjected to torture. The uprising was brutally suppressed. Members of the special forces “Alpha” of the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan opened fire, shooting unarmed inmates, resulting in the deaths of more than 50 people and injuries to another 186.

Those familiar with the situation believe that during “Zorro’s” leadership, the scale of corruption and torture of inmates sharply increased in prisons. Media outlets have repeatedly reported on the deaths of inmates due to torture. One such case was the death of Hamza Ikromzoda in 2012, who was tortured to death with an iron.