ACTIVIST REPORTS DEATH OF JASLYK INMATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 000549

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2018
TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV PREL UZ
SUBJECT: ACTIVIST REPORTS DEATH OF JASLYK INMATE

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


1. (C) Summary: In recent days, we have received conflicting
reports on prison conditions from human rights activists. On
May 8, Reuters reported that a prisoner at the Jaslyk prison
in Karakalpakstan died, possibly from torture. Local human
rights activist Surat Ikramov, most likely the source of the
Reuters article, reported the same information on his
website, but he later told poloff that the prisoner died from
bronchitis due to poor prison conditions. Separately, Human
Rights Watch's director reported an incident of collective
punishment of inmates that allegedly occurred at a prison in
Qarshi in February. In contrast, a Samarkand-based human
rights activist reported that conditions were improving at
Jaslyk, noting in particular that prisoners convicted of
religious extremism had been reintegrated with the general
prison population. Without direct access to Uzbekistan's
prisons, it is difficult for us to verify whether prison
conditions are worsening or improving, but we believe that
the continuation of International Committee of the Red Cross
prison visits offers the best hope for improved treatment of
inmates. End summary.

REUTERS REPORTS DEATH OF JASLYK INMATE; CAUSE UNCLEAR
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2. (U) On May 8, Reuters reported that Odil Azizov, an Uzbek
prisoner who died while serving a 15-year sentence on charges
of religious extremism, had violent marks on his body
indicating injuries from torture. The article noted that
Azizov died on May 4 in a prison hospital in Tashkent where
he had been moved from the Jaslyk prison in Karakalpakstan.
Azizov's father informed Reuters that his son's body was
covered with signs of torture when it was handed over to him
for burial on May 5, including "a large stain and bruises on
the left side of his chest" and swollen feet. The father
reportedly appealed in vain to government bodies to provide
emergency medical treatment to his son. The article further
quoted human rights activist Surat Ikramov as stating that
another prisoner, Abdurakhim Tashpulatov, died in late April
after he was allegedly threatened by prison wardens, and that
"at least 20 inmates" die at Uzbek prisons each month from
various causes.


3. (SBU) In a May 7 article on his website, Ikramov alleged
that Azizov died from lung failure after being beaten by
prison guards at Jaslyk on multiple occasions. He reported
being told by Azizov's father that his son was singled out
for mistreatment because he refused to abandon his religious
beliefs and plead forgiveness after an intervention by
Tashkent Imam Rakhmatullo Obidov and an imam from Nukus.
Family members also reported to Ikramov seeing physical
evidence of torture on Odil's body when visiting him at
prison. They also alleged that two men visited their home in
Kokand in 2006 and offered to help release Odil in exchange
for two thousand dollars, a sum the family could not afford
(Comment: We are certain that Ikramov brought the Azizov case
to the attention of Reuters. End comment.)


4. (C) However, on May 8, Ikramov told poloff that Odil
Azizov did not die from torture, but rather from acute
bronchitis as a result of being held in a cell without
heating with other prisoners during Karakalpakstan's fierce
winter (Note: Karakalpakstan is the coldest region in
Uzbekistan, and this past winter was reportedly one of the
coldest on record. End note.)

FAMILY MEMBERS ALSO IMPRISONED; ALLEGEDLY TORTURED
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5. (SBU) According to Ikramov's article on his website, Odil
Azimov's brother Mamur Azimov and his cousin Mamur Sodikov
were also previously sentenced on religious extremism charges
and tortured in prison. Mamur Azimov remains at prison
colony 64/49 in Qarshi, while Sodikov was allegedly beaten to
death by a prison guard and another inmate in December 2005.

INMATE IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER ACCIDENT

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6. (SBU) On his website, Ikramov also reported that Farkhod
Akhmedov, who was sentenced to six years' imprisonment on
religious extremism charges in 2004, is in critical condition
after being involved in a construction accident at a prison
for inmates with tuberculosis in Navoi province. Family
members told Ikramov that Akhmedov and other prisoners with
tuberculosis were forced to work on construction projects,
even though prison regulations reportedly prohibited their
participation in physically strenuous activities. It is
unclear whether Akhmedov contracted tuberculosis while in
pre-trial detention or before his arrest in 2003.

COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT REPORTED AT QARSHI PRISON
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7. (C) Human Rights Watch Director Igor Vorontsov reported
on May 6 being informed by relatives of inmates at the Kasan
prison (number 64/51) in Qarshi that over one hundred and
fifty inmates convicted on religious extremism charges were
beaten on their heels over a series of days as part of a
collective punishment in February. Twenty-seven of the
individuals who refused to sign documents renouncing their
religious beliefs were then reportedly transferred to another
prison in Bukhara. Seven of the individuals were eventually
brought back to Qarshi after signing the confessions. It is
unknown what occurred to the other 20 individuals, and the
seven returnees were reportedly reluctant to speak to the
other inmates about their treatment in Bukhara. Vorontsov
told poloff that he was still trying to collect more
information about the alleged incident.


8. (C) Comment: Collective punishments of religious and
other prisoners have been reported in the past. These
usually have followed disturbances such as prison riots or
hunger strikes. After the punishments, the inmates are often
divided up and dispersed to other prisons. Relatives are
frequently not informed about the inmates' new locations for
several months. Although Vorontsov has not yet been
accredited as HRW's Uzbekistan representative, he continues
to cautiously engage in human rights monitoring and reporting
activities. End comment.

OTHER ACTIVISTS REPORT IMPROVED CONDITIONS AT JASLYK
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9. (SBU) In contrast to the above reports, Samarkand
activist and Rapid Reaction human rights group member Kamil
Ashurov released a report in April describing improving
conditions at the Jaslyk prison. Ashurov told poloff on
April 23 that he collected information for the report by
talking to relatives of inmates who visited the prison. In
particular, Ashurov reported that prison officials
reintegrated inmates convicted of religious extremism with
the general prison population in late 2007 (Note:
Previously, human rights contacts reported that at prisons
across the country, inmates convicted of religious extremism
were held separately and treated much more harshly than other
prisoners. End note.) He also expressed his belief that
officials sought to improve prison conditions, especially
those convicted of religious extremism, in late 2007 in
anticipation of the restart of International Committee of the
Red Cross prison monitoring in 2008.

COMMENT
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10. (C) Ashurov and his colleagues at the Rapid Reaction
Group stand out as among the more professional in their
approach to human rights reporting. His report on Jaslyk, in
contrast to an earlier Rapid Reaction Report on conditions at
a prison in Bukhara from February, appeared to us to be
well-researched and balanced. By the same token, Ikramov's
reporting is among the most professional in Uzbekistan, but
his inconsistency on the Azizov case - the stark contrast
between what he told Reuters and what he told us - is worth
noting. We do not believe any of these activists are

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necessarily fabricating information, but all are keenly aware
of EU and U.S. attention on human rights and the possibility
of sanctions. The combination of emotion and politics,
coupled with limited access to first-hand information, is the
stuff from which rumors flow.


11. (C) Vorontsov's information regarding the collective
punishment of inmates in Qarshi is impossible for us to
confirm at this point. Similar collective punishments have
occurred in the past, and as in those previous incidents, we
believe that the whereabouts of the 20 missing prisoners will
eventually come to light over the next few months.


12. (C) Without direct access to Uzbekistan's prisons, it is
difficult for us to verify whether prison conditions are
worsening or improving. It is particularly difficult to
square away Ikramov's report of poor conditions at Jaslyk
prison with Ashurov's report that conditions there were
improving. Most likely, the picture is probably mixed across
Uzbekistan, with some prison officials seeking to improve
conditions in the light of the restart of International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visits, but with the abuse
of some prisoners, particularly those convicted of religious
extremism, still occurring. We believe that the continuation
of ICRC prison visits will encourage prison officials to
improve conditions for inmates.
NORLAND