In Dushanbe, a detainee died from torture in a police station

The detained 36-year-old Maksudzhon Saidov died in a police station. The cause of death has not been specified.

In the police department of Dushanbe, 36-year-old Maksudzhon Saidov died. On January 8, he was detained by officers of the Second Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Sino district in the city of Kulob and brought to the Dushanbe police station.

According to Radio Ozodi, citing its sources, Saidov’s body was urgently transported from Dushanbe to Kulob and buried on January 12. According to sources, traces of torture were found on his body, and burn marks were visible on his fingers and toes.

It is reported that Saidov was detained on suspicion of illegal trafficking of the drug “crystal methamphetamine.” Meanwhile, the Internal Affairs Department of Kulob stated that the police officers from the capital’s Sino district acted in violation of established procedures, conducting an operation in the territory of Kulob without prior notification to the local police. The Kulob police department stated that they were not informed about the detention and do not have information on this matter.

Officially, the authorities of Tajikistan have not yet commented on the death of Maksudzhon Saidov. There has also been no information regarding the operation conducted by the capital’s police in Kulob without prior notification to local law enforcement agencies.

At the same time, Radio Ozodi, citing its sources in the Sino police department, reported that the prosecutor’s office is investigating the death of the Kulob resident for signs of death by torture. According to the source, two officers involved in his detention have been interrogated. A final decision on filing charges will be made after receiving the results of the forensic examination.

This is not the first case where detainees die from torture and ill-treatment in the police departments, the State National Security Committee, detention facilities, and investigative isolators in the country. Earlier, in January 2023, another resident of Kulob, Abdulkahhor Rozikov, also died after torture in the police department. This incident sparked mass protests from the residents of Kulob, after which the authorities were forced to detain three police officers. They were later sentenced to 14 years in prison.