Another dead body has emerged from the internal affairs department. When will the system take appropriate action?

On June 3 of this year, a citizen died in the Boka district of the Tashkent region due to illegal interrogation and injuries inflicted by officers from the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). The Ministry of Internal Affairs received a notification about this incident. Subsequently, two employees who were responsible for the incident were arrested, and the management of the district DIA was dismissed. However, the operatives involved in the case are denying the situation, and the prosecutor's office has appointed an additional examination.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the citizen, born in 1987, resided in the Yangi Bazar district of the Upper Chirchik district. On June 3, the citizen was involved in an investigation as part of a criminal case initiated under Part 3 of Article 169, of the Criminal Code. The citizen was suspected of committing several theft crimes and was brought in for questioning in the DIA investigation room, with his defense attorney appointed by the state present. The investigation process was reportedly fully recorded on video.

Currently, a criminal case has been initiated against the employees who illegally interrogated and caused injuries to Usman Salimboev, a 36-year-old member of the Roma community who passed away.

The Uzbek service of BBC Uzbek publication interviewed the relatives of the deceased and the press secretary of the Tashkent City Internal Affairs Department to shed light on the incident.

The deceased's brother stated that this event has been widely discussed on social media for several days. The incident involving 21-year-old Hafizullah Turgunboev, who allegedly threw himself from the 4th floor of the Chilonzor district police station, had already drawn attention. The fact that they filmed the situation, demanded their rights to be ensured, and freely spoke to the media without concealing their identities or using pseudonyms is significant.

Bobur Tolaganov, the press secretary of the main department of internal affairs of the Tashkent region, provided an interview to journalists where he openly shared details of the events. For the first time in the history of the internal affairs system, he expressed sympathy and condolences to the relatives of the deceased, and he clarified certain rumors circulating on social media.

It is confirmed that the deceased was indeed involved in a theft crime. He was detained at 19:00 in accordance with Article 227 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and placed in the temporary detention room of the district IIB. However, the operatives of the criminal investigation department took him to a service room instead of a designated interrogation room, violating procedural protocols, and conducted an inquiry related to his involvement in another crime. Later that day, at around 11:30 p.m., emergency medical services were called due to the deteriorating health of the suspect, Usman Salimboev. Despite receiving medical treatment, he passed away in the hospital.

In response to the situation, a working group, consisting of Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Yahyojon Abdulkhakov, the Personal Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and employees from the regional prosecutor's office, went to the scene to investigate. The incident site was inspected, and statements were obtained from the personnel involved in the case.

The deceased's brother claims that the family members were not promptly informed about his brother's death.

According to the primary forensic medical examination, Usman Salimboev had injuries on his body. Consequently, a criminal case was opened by the Prosecutor's Office of the Tashkent region under Article 235 of the Criminal Code, which addresses torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and the use of punishment.

As part of an impartial investigation, the Minister of Internal Affairs ordered the dismissal of Bobokhanov, the head of the DIA in the Boka district, his deputy Khudoykulov, the head of the criminal investigation department Subanov, the head of the investigation department Ochilov, and Ibragimov, the head of the duty department, who failed to fulfill his responsibilities.

Furthermore, a service inspection has been initiated to investigate the actions of the central apparatus of the Ministry and the responsible managers and other employees of the Tashkent Region DIA.

The ministry stated in a press release that, according to the legislation, the prosecutor's office is responsible for legally evaluating the illegal actions of the internal affairs officers. Therefore, all materials will be presented to the prosecutor's office for an objective assessment of the situation. The ministry expressed its commitment to closely cooperate with the prosecutor's office.

The Tashkent region prosecutor's office has already issued an official statement regarding the situation. The statement confirms that an investigation is being conducted by the Department of Investigation of Serious Crimes of the Regional Prosecutor's Office under Article 235 of the Criminal Code, concerning torture and the application of cruel and inhuman punishments, following the death of a suspect involved in the investigation by the Boka district DIA. It was also mentioned that two operatives were detained during the investigation.

The prosecutor's office emphasized that it has taken special control over this situation. Citizens were urged not to believe baseless information that may mislead the investigation and to rely on information provided by official sources.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs concluded its statement by reaffirming its responsibility to uphold the integrity and dignity of individuals. The ministry strongly condemns torture, violence, and any other inhuman treatment. It stated that employees who engage in such actions will be held accountable under the law.

While reading this statement, one might say, "Here it is." The fact that the news of the suspect's death at the IIB building was shared with the public and nothing was hidden is a positive development, in our opinion. Unfortunately, this is not the first case within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In fact, this is what we are aware of.

In reality, we first learned about the death of a citizen in the DIA building from the Ministry of Internal Affairs itself. The ministry acknowledged its responsibility before the public trials. The Tashkent region DIA was accessible not only to local Uzbek media but also to the Uzbek service of foreign media.

Although it is widely claimed that torture in prisons and investigative units has ended in Uzbekistan, incidents like these continue to occur every year. If we compare this case with the death of Hafizullah Turgunboev, a 21-year-old who died on May 29 of this year at the DIA of the Chilonzor district, there is a stark contrast. Even if Hafizullah did indeed jump from the 4th floor, the responsible DIA officers who failed to supervise him were not held accountable.

Similarly, after the mysterious death of 15-year-old Ravshanbek Abdusattorov, who was taken to the Juvenile Center of the DIA in Ko'kan for shoplifting food and drinks worth 17,000 soums, no employees were dismissed or arrested. They were merely informed that a service inspection was scheduled.

Another incident occurred on October 9 of last year involving Ayatullo Makhsumov, who was said to have committed suicide in the penal colony No. 4 of the fifth regional area of Navoi city. However, according to relatives, he was tortured to death by the DIA officers.

So, why did the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which previously paid little attention to these events, take a different approach this time? Do standards and principles change according to circumstances, sometimes bending, sometimes bending, and sometimes stretching?

Once again, let us reiterate that torture during the investigation process in the New Uzbekistan is not a thing of the past or present.

On January 23, 2020, at 01:50 a.m., a citizen who was brought to the DIA building of the Chiraqchi district on suspicion of theft died during the search and rescue activities carried out in the Langar village of Chiraqchi district.

Additionally, on May 30, 2020, operatives of the Andijan city DIA brought a citizen named Abdukarimov to the IIB administrative building and illegally detained him using force that endangered his life and health. Abdukarimov died in the hospital as a result of torture and mental torment inflicted by the internal affairs officers.

These two cases caused a great uproar not only within the country but also internationally. While the closure of Jasliq prison was applauded, the continued use of torture by law enforcement agencies was condemned. President Mirziyoyev held a separate meeting regarding the events in Andijan and Chiraqchi, making strict demands on the internal affairs bodies. Plans were announced to establish a special investigative committee and draft a law on torture. However, these plans were not realized.

It is evident that even today, individuals entering the internal affairs bodies do not emerge unharmed due to torture. Unfortunately, many within the system have not learned from these incidents.