THIRD INMATE DIES IN ANDIJON PRISON

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 002083

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2017
TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV PREL UZ
SUBJECT: THIRD INMATE DIES IN ANDIJON PRISON

REF: TASHKENT 1999

Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: On December 3, BBC News reported that a
third inmate at a prison in Andijon had died, which follows
reports that two other inmates had died at the same prison
earlier in November (reftel). Surat Ikramov, the source of
the BBC report, told poloff that the third inmate's family
was ordered by authorities not to open the casket or speak
with human rights activists. He also reported that the
sister of one of the other two inmates had found evidence of
torture on his body. Ikramov contended that many cases of
prisoners being mistreated or killed go unreported, noting
that approximately 25 prisoners disappeared from a prison in
Navoi province following a disturbance there in August. In
addition, the Associated Press reported on December 3 that
the son of a prominent human rights activist stabbed himself
in protest after enduring beatings at the hand of prison
guards. Although the true number of inmates who die in Uzbek
prisons is impossible to verify, we agree with Ikramov's
contention that the true number is probably greater than what
has been reported, giving us all the more reason to continue
to press the Uzbeks on improving prison conditions and
opening them up to outside monitors. End summary.

BODY OF THIRD INMATE DELIVERED TO FAMILY IN TASHKENT
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2. (U) On December 3, BBC News reported on its website that
a third prisoner died at the same prison in Andijon as had
two other inmates in November (reftel). Local human rights
defender Surat Ikramov, the source of the BBC article,
reported on his website that the body of the prisoner was
returned to his family in Tashkent, who were reportedly
ordered by authorities not to open the casket or to speak
with human rights activists or journalists.


3. (C) Ikramov told poloff on December 5 that he had not
been able to verify yet the identity of the third prisoner or
the cause of death as the family is too scared to talk with
him. His source is the sister of Takhir Nurmuhammedov, one
of the two other inmates who died earlier in November and who
knows the family of the third inmate. Ikramov was not sure
when the third inmate died, but believed that it occurred
around November 29. He noted that all three inmates were
housed together at Andijon prison T-1 and were convicted of
Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) membership.

EVIDENCE OF TORTURE ALLEGED IN CASE OF TAKHIR NURMUAMEDOV
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4. (C) Ikramov met recently with the sister of
Nurmuhammedov, who reported evidence of torture on her
brother's body, including that his buttocks were burned and
parts had been cut off and that the left side of his head was
dented. He agreed to invite poloff to a follow-up meeting
with her soon.


5. (C) Ikramov also tried but failed to meet with the
brother of Fitrat Salohuddinov, the other inmate who
allegedly died of torture earlier in November. He recently
tried to visit the brother's house, but was blocked from
entering by approximately 20 Ministry of Internal Affairs
(MVD) officers who were standing around the house. Despite
being informed of Ikramov's arrival, the brother refused to
come out to meet him, and Ikramov suspected that the MVD
officers prevented him from doing so.

OMBUDSMAN'S OFFICE OFFER CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS OF DEATHS
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6. (C) As reported in reftel, Parliamentary Ombudsman for
Human Rights Chief of Staff Maruf Usmanov told embassy local
political specialist on November 20 that Nurmuhammedov had
succumbed to tuberculosis. During a meeting with poloff on
November 27, Usmanov said that either Nurmuhammedov or
Salohuddinov had died of a heart attack, and that the other
inmate had died of kidney disease (he was unsure of which
prisoner died of what),and offered no explanation for the
apparent contradiction with his earlier report (Comment: We
believe that the Ombudsman's office might have been informed
that the two inmates were generically ill, and that Usmanov
might have been speculating on both occasions about the true
nature of their alleged illnesses. End comment.)

"JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG"?
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7. (C) Ikramov told poloff on December 5 that the three
recent deaths in custody were "just the tip of the iceberg"
and suspected many other cases that went unreported. He
pointed out that the families of the three inmates all lived
in Tashkent, where the majority of the country's journalists
and human rights activists reside, while the families of many
other prisoners reside in rural areas without regular access
to phones or the internet.


8. (C) Ikramov also reported that approximately 25 inmates
convicted of religious extremism disappeared after a
disturbance in August at prison colony 64/48 in Navoi
province. According to Ikramov, the disturbance began after
prisoners convicted of religious extremism began a hunger
strike to protest conditions. The disturbance was eventually
crushed by authorities. After the incident, Ikramov believes
that the inmates were transferred to other prisons and are
now being held in solitary confinement. He said that the
families of the prisoners do not know the prisoners' current
locations, and he was unsure i al of the prisoners were
still alive.


9. (C) In its alternative report presented in Geneva in
November to the United Nations Committee Against Torture, the
Ezgulik human rights organization reported on two other cases
of inmates who allegedly died in prison this year. According
to the report, on April 5, Bakhtiyor Hasanov, a former
military prosecutor of the Surkhandarya Province prosecutor's
office who was convicted of selling narcotics, allegedly died
at prison colony 64/21 after being tortured by another inmate
on orders from the colony's deputy chief, Jashid Rusulov. In
August, authorities delivered the body of Ortikjon
Muhammedov, who was earlier convicted of HT membership, to
his family in Tashkent and ordered that it be buried
immediately. Muhammedov was an inmate at prison colony 64/48
in Navoi province and was reportedly killed during the
disturbance there. According to those who had seen his body,
it was allegedly covered in bruises and wounds. Ezgulik
chief Vasila Inoyatova told poloff on December 4 that the
information on the two cases had been verified through
discussions with relatives.

SON OF PROMINENT HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS STABS SELF IN PRISON
AFTER BEATING BY GUARDS
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10. (C) On December 3, the Associated Press and the
independent Uznews.net website reported that Ikhtiyor
Hamroev, who was sentenced in August 2006 to 3 years
imprisonment on politically-motivated charges of hooliganism
and is the son of prominent human rights activist Bakhtiyor
Hamroev, allegedly stabbed himself on November 30 after being
beaten for several days by prison guards. Although the AP
article reported that Ikhtiyor was hospitalized, Bakhtiyor is
quoted in the Uznews.net article as saying that Ikhtiyor was
denied medical treatment and was subsequently thrown into
solitary confinement. On December 4, Ezgulik chief Vasila
Inoyatova told poloff that she had spoken with Bakhtiyor, who
confirmed to her the details of the Uznews.net article. She
also said that she planned to try to visit Ikhtiyor in prison
with Bakhtiyor on December 6. In January, Ikhtiyor was
earlier hospitalized with a stomach ulcer after being beaten
in the midsection by prison guards.

COMMENT
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11. (C) As reported in reftel, Ikramov has good connections
with the families of imprisoned HT members and we consider
his information to be generally reliable. We agree with him
that the number of prisoners who die in custody is most
likely higher than the three reported here, and that many
cases probably go unreported, although the exact number is
impossible to estimate. We will continue to press the Uzbeks
on improving prison conditions and opening prisons to outside
observers, especially monitors from the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
HANSON