The Ombudsman expressed an emotional reaction to the film “Internal affairs”

On 30 October 2022, a special film entitled «Internal Affairs» was announced on the website of QALAMPIR.UZ.  The film was about Mahsumov, the son of Ayatollah Rahmatullo, who died in a correctional colony in the fourth district of Navoi.  In the film, the relatives and parents of the deceased convict claimed that he had died as a result of torture.  Also in the film, the opinions of former prisoners and the head of the Human Rights public organization «Ezgulik, » Abdurahman Tashanov about the situation in prisons were presented.

The video was followed by a representative of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman).

On 9 October of this year, the conclusions of his close relatives were received on the suicide of a prisoner who had been tried four times in the correctional colony of the 4th Navoi region.  The relatives of the deceased claimed that he had been tortured.  Currently, the Special Prosecutor’s Office of Navoi is conducting an investigation into this case, and a legal decision will be made», 
The Ombudsman also reported that there were no complaints about torture by the relatives of the deceased in the case, but after the news of the case appeared on social networks on the internet, the relevant documents were examined as follows:

By the way, in May this year, under the leadership of the Ombudsman, a monitoring visit was made to penal institutions in the Navoi region, including colony 4.  The Human Rights non-profit organization «Ezgulik», which participated in this monitoring, wrote on various social networks on the internet that there were no complaints of torture from the Navoi colonies.

In addition, the Ombudsman accused Hulkar Murtazoeva, a journalist on QALAMPIR.UZ, quoting an interview given by the Ombudsman a year ago in October 2021, even though the incident took place in October 2022.

In response to this, the editorial board of the site reports that the current opinions of the Ombudsman Feruza Eshmatova in the special film are not given.  On the contrary, it is emphasized that Eshmatova gave these opinions in 2021, according to which the film compares the situation in the current year and the previous year’s study.  Moreover, given that Ayatollah Mahsumov was deprived of his liberty in December 2018, everything that the Ombudsman said in 2021 and the last five years about torture is important to us.  If Eshmatova has a report for the remaining years, we’re ready to listen to him.

Now let’s talk about the new facts of the Human Rights Commissioner for 2022.  However, these facts are almost the same as last year.  For this reason, we did not see a great imbalance in relations in 2021 and 2022.

According to data from the Ombudsman, 297 prison monitoring visits were conducted in the first nine months of 2022.  Monitoring by the Ombudsman and his regional representatives was carried out without warning the prison administration and existing cases were investigated. During classes, prisoners and administration meet face-to-face, asked they are asked whether torture is practiced or not, and whether the conditions created for them meet the required standards.

"In 2022, the Ombudsman received complaints of torture, but in many cases, they are not confirmed.  Some of the complaints concern torture from 5 to 10 years ago.  To study the situation thoroughly, anonymous interviews of prisoners were initiated throughout the country in 2022.  The results will be announced in the annual report of the Ombudsman on the work done to prevent cases of torture," the report said.

The report notes that in 2022, complaints received by the Ombudsman against law enforcement officers who abuse their powers and violate human rights were investigated and sent to the Prosecutor’s Office for legal evaluation of the actions of employees. In one case, he was found guilty under articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for intentionally causing serious injury to health and falsifying evidence.  In addition, 11 employees have been disciplined and the employment contract with 1 employee has been terminated.

«A journalist of QALAMPIR.UZ website mentioned the phrase «the box that the Ombudsman carries with him» during a telephone conversation with former convicts (names are not disclosed), the «boxes of the Ombudsman» do not erode, they are placed in colonies and remand centers, where there are no video cameras and where prisoners have access.  It is important to note that these boxes cannot be opened by anyone except the Ombudsman and regional representatives.

Applications are accepted for study every two weeks», - said a statement.

Note here that QALAMPIR.UZ cannot enter and exit prisons as an ombudsman every day.  They do not have the authority to do so.  That’s why we don’t even know where the box is located. Besides, we also listened to ex-convicts in order to give the parties equal opportunities.  Is that where the box is located, or is it empty?

Former convicts interviewed in the special film «Internal Affairs» said that if they claim to be tortured, they will be subjected to psychological and physical pressure, because of which prisoners are afraid and cannot open their mouths about torture.

«We recall that on 26 October this year, on the official website of the Human Rights Commissioner, published by the Public Association of Human Rights of Uzbekistan «Legal Support» The communication is an official response to the fact that the detention facility is being held.  This report was also posted on the website of QALAMPIR.UZ.  In the present case, even though officers of the Samarkand City Internal Affairs Agency claim that the prisoner fell off his motorcycle 10 days ago and that his injuries are a consequence of this, the Ombudsman submitted a legal assessment of the situation to the General Prosecutor’s Office.  The opinions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prisoner are contradictory, and the truth will be known after the investigations of the Prosecutor’s Office," the report said.

In addition, the Ombudsman does not have the authority to investigate the start of the investigation, therefore, after visiting the site and investigating allegations of torture and reports circulated on social networks in cases of signs of torture, the case was referred to the Prosecutor’s Office for consideration.

However, the Ombudsman reported that based on the testimonies of convicts and prisoners and preliminary and primary documents collected in cases of torture taken under the supervision of the Ombudsman in 2021, the procuratorial authorities had not confirmed the facts of torture.

«Unfortunately, those who use the policy of openness in the country in their interests, spread baseless and false information, causing alarm among the population, trying to gain a «false reputation», - he said.

The department also referred to an interview with Abdurahman Tashanov, the head of the Human Rights non-profit organization «Ezgulik», who shared his opinion about the ongoing torture in prisons and said that «Our voice, and that of the Ombudsman, do not come from the same place. Or rather, we could not join their choir.

«Therefore, we are no longer allowed to monitor. »