In Tajikistan, five law enforcement officers have been convicted of torture

On June 26, the world observes the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

In a joint statement on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, a number of human rights organizations called on the governments of Central Asian countries, particularly Tajikistan, to take concrete measures to end torture and ill-treatment.

The joint statement from the Coalition Against Torture in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, the Central Asia Human Rights Association (Uzbekistan, based in France), the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (Turkmenistan, based in exile in Austria), the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) was published on June 26.

Torture and ill-treatment remain widespread issues in Tajikistan and are of particular concern when applied to detainees arrested on political grounds, the statement noted.

The authors of the statement stated that “the situation in the country remains tense following the repressions in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) in response to protests and unrest in the region in November 2021 and May 2022.”

The authorities have widely employed excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, torture, and ill-treatment, as well as numerous trials deemed unfair by the international community.

No one has ultimately been held accountable for these numerous violations during the period of repression, the statement noted.

The statement also reiterated the arrest of lawyer and human rights defender Manuchehr Kholiknazorov, director of the Pamir Lawyers Association, one of the few human rights organizations in GBAO. Kholiknazorov was convicted on fabricated charges by the Supreme Court of Tajikistan in December 2022 and sentenced to 16 years in a high-security prison. There are concerns that he may have been subjected to torture or ill-treatment in prison.

At the same time, the authors of the statement noted that in 2023, criminal cases were initiated against five law enforcement officers under Part 1 of Article 143 of the Criminal Code (Violation of Citizens’ Equality). All accused law enforcement officers were found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in high-security colonies.