NURMUHAMMEDOV SISTERS DESCRIBE BROTHER'S TORTURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000007 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/03/2018 TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV SOCI UZ SUBJECT: NURMUHAMMEDOV SISTERS DESCRIBE BROTHER'S TORTURE AND DEATH IN ANDIJON PRISON REF: A. 07 TASHKENT 2083 ¶B. 07 TASHKENT 2181 ¶C. 07 TASHKENT 1999 ¶D. 07 TASHKENT 2131 Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Summary: On December 24, poloff met with Ranoh and Danoh Nurmuhammedov, the sisters of Takhir Nurmuhammedov, ONE of three inmates at Andijon prison T-1 who were allegedly tortured to death in November (ref A). The sisters described the abuse their brother suffered in prison and probable evidence of torture that (despite government denials) was found by a family friend on his body. According to them, their brother was not a religious extremist prior to his conviction, but joined Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) after being imprisoned with HT members in Andijon. The meeting was arranged by human rights activist Surat Ikramov, who told poloff that a fourth prisoner from Andijon prison was tortured and is currently hospitalized and that a fifth prisoner recently died at a prison in Navoi province. The sisters' testimony that Nurmuhammedov joined HT while in prison dovetails with accounts by Ferghana Valley-based human rights activists that Uzbek prisons have become breeding grounds for religious extremism. End summary. MEETING WITH SISTERS ARRANGED BY HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) On December 24, poloff met with Ranoh and Danoh Nurmuhammedov, the sisters of Takhir Nurmuhammedov, ONE of several inmates, including Fitrat Salohuddinov and a still-unnamed third inmate, who were reportedly tortured to death in November at Andijon's high security prison T-1 (ref A). The meeting was arranged by human rights activist Surat Ikramov, who has been in contact with the sisters since March. Poloff confirmed that Ikramov printed an article on his website in March with the sisters' original allegations that their brother was tortured at the Andijon prison. This November, Ikramov also was the first to report the inmates' deaths on his website. BROTHER SHOWS UP DEAD HOURS AFTER FAILED PRISON VISIT -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Authorities told the sisters that their brother had died shortly after they tried to visit him in prison for his birthday on November 13. The sisters had planned to spend two days with their brother in a special dormitory at the prison, but when they arrived, they were told that their brother was being held in solitary confinement and could not receive any visitors (Note: Uzbek law permits family members to visit inmates for two hours once a month and for two days once every three months. However, prisoners held in solitary confinement for breaking internal prison regulations can lose their visitation rights. End comment.) Within a few hours of returning home, the sisters were informed that their brother had died and that his body would be delivered to them. The sisters believed that their brother was probably already dead when they tried to visit him and authorities sought to hide this fact by claiming that he was in solitary confinement. MALE FRIEND DESCRIBES EVIDENCE OF TORTURE TO SISTERS -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) The sisters had not personally seen their brother's body, as it is forbidden by Muslim custom for female relatives to do so. Instead, a male friend, who is also a doctor, came to clean the body for burial and later described its condition to them. The male friend found a hole behind Nurmuhammedov's ears, possibly from some type of stabbing. His wrists were bruised as if from shackles, and his buttocks were severely burnt and had sections cut off. There was also another hole from a stabbing near his kidneys and bruises on his back and chest. Based on the friend's description of the body, the sisters concluded that Nurmuhammedov was tortured, possibly by being given electric shocks to the buttocks as he was hung from a prison wall. The sisters said that Nurmuhammedov was 41 years' old and was in good HEALTH before his incarceration. GOU CONTINUES TO DENY NURMUHAMMEDOV WAS TORTURED -------------- --- ¶5. (C) Government officials have repeatedly denied claims that Nurmuhammedov died after being tortured in prison. On December 27, poloff was told by the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) Directorate of Prisons (GUIN) that Nurmuhammedov died of an unspecified illness at the Republican Clinic for Prisoners ("Sangorod") in Tashkent. On November 27, Parliamentary Ombudsman for Human Rights Chief of Staff Maruf Usmanov told poloff that Nurmuhammedov died of either a heart attack or kidney failure. On November 20, Usmanov also told embassy local political specialist that Nurmuhammedov had succumbed to tuberculosis (ref C). SISTERS ARGUE BROTHER WAS DEVOUT MUSLIM, NOT EXTREMIST... -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) According to the sisters, their brother was a devout Muslim, but not an extremist at the time of his arrest. The sisters described him as an "idealist" who was not afraid to speak his mind and vocally criticize President Karimov. He was a successful businessman who was involved in buying and selling apartments and had three children. After his arrest in January 2002, he was accused of heading a HT cell of five other members, all of whom allegedly confessed their involvement during pre-trial investigation. The sisters said that their brother did not know the other five men and believed that they were tortured into making claims against their brother. The sisters attended their brother's trial at Tashkent's Yunusobad Criminal Court and insisted that the prosecutor failed to persuasively prove his case against him. In particular, they noted that the five men recanted their alleged confessions at the trial. On April 25, 2002, Nurmuhammedov was convicted of anticonstitutional activity and membership in a banned organization and sentenced to 8 years' imprisonment. ...BUT SAID THAT HE JOINED HIZB UT-TAHRIR IN PRISON -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) After his conviction, the sisters said that their brother was held in three different prisons. He first spent three years at prison number 64/3 ("Tabaksay") in Tashkent province before being transferred in early 2005 to prison number 64/47 in Navoi province, where he was allegedly tortured. In August 2006, Nurmuhammedov was transferred again to prison T-1 in Andijon. The sisters reported that conditions and abuse were worst at the Andijon prison, where almost all the inmates were members of HT. While in Andijon, the sisters said that Nurmuhammedov also became a HT member. SISTERS DESCRIBE REPEATED FAILED ATTEMPTS TO VISIT BROTHER -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) During their brother's imprisonment, the sisters were only able to see their brother once or twice each year despite repeated attempts to do so. Prison officials often told them that their brother was being held in solitary confinement for breaking internal rules and was not allowed to see visitors. The last time that the sisters saw their brother was in March. During the visit, the sisters saw clear evidence that their brother had been tortured, including wounds and stitches on his head. Nurmuhammedov also had difficulty walking and could no longer hear out of one of his ears. SISTERS CLOSELY WATCHED AFTER INTERVIEW WITH TIMES REPORTER -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) On December 21, the Times of London reported on Nurmuhammedov's alleged torture and death, mentioning Ranoh and Danoh by name in the article. The sisters confirmed to poloff that they had been interviewed by Times journalist Tony Halpin on December 6. After the interview, they were approached by a member of their local Mahalla (neighborhood) committee who warned the sisters not to talk again with journalists. Since that time, the sisters said that they have been followed everywhere by two cars, including to the Embassy to meet poloff. IKRAMOV SAYS ANOTHER ANDIJON INMATE HOSPITALIZED; INMATE DIES IN NAVOI PRISON -------------- -------------- ¶10. (C) During the meeting with the sisters, Ikramov also told poloff that a fourth inmate at the Andijon prison was tortured and is currently hospitalized in serious condition. Ikramov said that his first name was Yarkin, but he did not know his last name yet. According to the sisters, Yarkin was an acquaintance of Nurmuhammedov at the prison. Ikramov also said that the body of an unnamed inmate from Zarafshon prison in Navoi province was recently delivered to his family in the town of Kara-Suu in Tashkent province. Ikramov said that the body was missing all of its fingernails (Comment: We have not previously heard of this form of torture being used in Uzbekistan. End comment.) Ikramov said that he would attempt to visit the family to gather more information after the traditional 40-day mourning period had ended. ¶11. (C) Ikramov said that the Nurmuhammedov case was unusual, as he already knew the sisters from their earlier meeting in March and they were not afraid to speak out about their brother. He noted that most other family members of torture victims are afraid to talk to him or other human rights activists, and for this reason, it usually takes him much longer to confirm the details of such cases. COMMENT -------------- ¶12. (C) We cannot confirm all details of the sisters' account, but most of it rings true. Whether or not Nurmuhammedov joined HT only after his conviction is hard to say, but since he was considered a HT member by the GOU and was imprisoned with HT members, it is certainly plausible. We have heard from human rights activists that Uzbekistan's jails have become breeding grounds for extremism (ref D). If true, it would be a significant development and would raise a number of questions regarding GUIN's operations and control. Grizzly accounts such as these make it all the more urgent that the GOU and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reach agreement on an effective prison visit regime, which each side says it is willing to do but which has not yet materialized. NORLAND