Ilhom Ibodov (right), who died in custody on 13 September 2015, and his
brother Rahim Ibodov (left), who was subjected to torture by officers of the
Uzbekistani police and National Security Services and is currently serving an
eight-year prison term.
Brothers Rahim and Ilhom Ibodov
were businessmen running a car accessories business in Bukhara, central
Uzbekistan. In recent years officials of the local
National Security Services and others reportedly extorted bribes from the
brothers in exchange for letting them run their business, an arrangement that
is reportedly common in the business sector of Uzbekistan. When the brothers
fell out with these officials over the financial arrangements and threatened to
expose them, they were arrested on 16 August 2015 and accused of financial
crimes.
Rahim and Ilhom Ibodov were held
in a temporary detention centre (IVS) at the Bukhara City Department of
Internal Affairs for 25 days and were not allowed to speak to a lawyer for
three weeks. During this time four fellow inmates beat the brothers every day
and told them that they were acting on official orders in order to force them
to provide false testimony. On 12 September, two days after being transferred
to an SNB pre-trial investigation facility (SIZO), Rahim reportedly saw how his
brother was beaten to death by three high-ranking SNB officers in the cell
opposite. Ilhom’s body was returned to his family on 13 September for burial.
They took photos and videos documenting injuries all over his body. On 11
November 2015 the family was given a death certificate stating that Ilhom had
died of a heart attack. On 15 February 2016 Bukhara City Court sentenced
Rahim to eight years‘ imprisonment based on evidence allegedly extracted under
duress. The authorities failed to conduct an effective
investigation into the the circumstances of his death and allegations that the
brothers were severely beaten. Ilhom and Rahim’s relatives have
been repeatedly threatened with reprisals for speaking out about the case.
TAKE ACTION
Support Ilhom and
Rahim‘s family in their efforts to find out the truth and obtain justice by
sending an email to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan at info@tiv.uz
with the subject “Justice for Ilhom and
Rahim Ibodov“ copying
the following text:
Dear Minister,
There are allegations that Ilhom and Rahim Ibodov
were severely beaten while in detention facilities under the Bukhara City
Department of Internal Affairs and the Bukhara City National Security Services.
On 12 September 2015 Ilhom was reportedly beaten so severely by three SNB
officers that he later died from his injuries. Despite hearing allegations of
torture on 15 February 2016 Bukhara City Court sentenced Rahim to eight years‘
imprisonment based on evidence allegedly extracted under duress.
We call on you to do all within your remit to ensure
that a thorough, impartial and independent investigation is conducted into the
circumstances of Ilhom Ibodov’s death and into the torture of Rahim Ibodov. In
addition, Rahim Ibodov’s criminal case should be reviewed in a fair trial and
all evidence obtained under duress should be excluded. We ask the Uzbekistani
authorities to take all measures to ensure that the Rahim Ibodov and his family
are protected from reprisals.
Yours sincerely,
BACKGROUND:
On 16 August 2015
Ilhom and Rahim Ibodov were detained by security officials in Bukhara in relation to charges of
violating trade laws and illegally trading foreign currency, of illegally
travelling to Mecca on a pilgrimage and of forcing ten Russian citizens to work
for them. Ilhom and Rahim were held in a detention facility of the Bukhara
Department of Internal Affairs for 25 days and were told on the first day that
if they signed a confession they would be released quickly. Both brothers
reportedly signed confessions without reading them. However, they were
reportedly subjected to further torture and ill-treatment including beatings by
four “lokhmachi’” (detainees used by police and SNB officers to carry
out torture in pre-trial detention) in order to force them to give further
details to substantiate their false confessions.
An initial remand hearing took
place on 26 August, and another on 12 September 2015 at Bukhara City Court.
Ilhom and Rahim’s family were reportedly not informed about the first remand
hearing but at the second they noticed that Ilhom could barely walk into the
courtroom and had to be supported by two officials, his head lolling onto one
of their shoulders. The judge did not allow the relatives into the courtroom.
On 10 September Rahim and Ilhom were transferred to the Bukhara pre-trial
detention centre (SIZO) under the National Security Service (SNB). In the
cellar of the SIZO, Rahim, who was being held in a cell opposite his brother’s,
reportedly saw three high-ranking SNB officers beat Ilhom as he lay on the
floor. During the beating one of the officials
reportedly held Ilhom while another put his foot on his chest and told him “If we kill you no one will ever ask us the
reason why.” Then they began to beat him again. Ilhom had already lost
consciousness. Rahim Ibodov asked the doctor of the SIZO who was present to
provide Ilhom with medical assistance but she allegedly refused, telling him
“I’ll help him once he’s dead”. Ilhom died on 13 September 2015.
On
13 September his body was given to his relatives who buried him on 14
September. Only on 11 November 2015 was Ilhom’s family
given a death certificate stating that he had died from a heart attack.
Photographic and video images of Ilhom Ibodov’s body taken by the family show
bruising as well as bleeding on the nails of the hands and feet.
Ilhom
and Rahim’s mother, Khursand Radzhaba has lodged numerous complaints with
the Uzbekistani authorities about the treatment of her sons but they
have failed to launch a thorough and impartial investigation into the torture
and death in custody and family members have been repeatedly threatened with
reprisals for speaking out about the case.
On 15
February 2016 Bukhara City Criminal Court sentenced Rahim Ibodov to eight years
in prison after finding him guilty of illegal purchase or sale of foreign
currency (Article 177 part 3 items "a", "b" of the
Uzbekistani Criminal Code), tax avoidance (Article 184 part 3), violating trade
regulations (Article 189) and money laundering (Article 243). Rahim Ibodov
partially admitted violating Article 189 for accounting discrepancies.
Rahim Ibodov told the court that he had signed
confessions without reading them and that he and his brother had been subjected
to torture by SNB officers but the judge reportedly told Rahim that he should
say nothing about the torture. Reportedly no proof of the brothers’ guilt was
presented to the court and the prosecution case relied on testimony obtained
under torture from the deceased Ilhom Ibodov and other prosecution witnesses
who were not present in court.
In March 2016 Rahim
Ibodov’s lawyer appealed the eight-year sentence on the grounds that the court
of first instance had not taken into account the violations of the criminal
procedural regulations and the allegations of torture. Nevertheless the appeal
court left the first sentence in force. The
court also failed to take into account the regular death threats received by
Rahim Ibodov from SNB officers while he was in detention.
Rahim Ibodov is currently
serving his sentence in prison colony UA 64/3 in the village of Tavaksai in the
Bostanliq district of Tashkent region.
