Shroud of Secrecy Surrounds Tajik Prisons
New human rights watchdog pledges to work towards greater transparency.
Shroud of Secrecy Surrounds Tajik Prisons
New human rights watchdog pledges to work towards greater transparency.
Experts say restrictions on access to information about Tajikistan’s prison help perpetuate poor conditions and practices.
The newly-appointed human rights ombudsman has promised to pull back the veil of secrecy and provide access for independent prison visitors.
The authorities currently refrain from releasing information about prisons or the treatment of inmates. Nor do they currently allow the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, to visit penal institutions, as standard practice in all but the most tightly controlled states.
“The Tajik penitentiary system remains closed to public scrutiny. The authorities probably have something to hide,” said analyst Abdullo Kurbonov.
This secrecy is more than practice; it is ingrained in official policy. At a press conference at the end of April, the then deputy justice minister, Rustam Mengliev, made it clear that “no information is given out” about the penal system because officially it is a “closed system”.
An official from the justice ministry’s penal affairs department, who asked to remain anonymous, acknowledged that the culture of silence was a problem.
“The lack of openness is to an extent the reason why rumours appear that may well be untrue,” he said.
When control of the prisons was handed over from the Ministry of the Interior to the justice ministry in 2002, experts hailed the reform as a significant step forward which they believed would allow many of the challenges facing the system to be resolved.
In 2004, the ICRC was for the first time allowed to go into the prisons and meet convicts. Yet this right was removed after only a few months.
According to Kurbanov, the trend now is towards greater secrecy. He believes the authorities are using national security concerns as a pretext to conceal the myriad problems in the prison camps, ranging from health issues like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis to physical and other forms of abuse by guards.
Kurbanov says Tajik human rights groups are constantly receiving letters from the relatives of inmates alleging they are subjected to assault and malnutrition.
“An inmate can be insulted or beaten for having poorly shaven face or a sullen expression,” said Habibullo, a former prisoner, who lists overcrowding, shortage of drinking water and beatings by prison guards among the worst problems.
Any attempt to raise these issues meets with denial, or stony silence. Kurbanov cited one case in 2005 when 12 prisoners at Qurghonteppa prison in southern Tajikistan began a hunger strike over what they said were poor conditions and systemic brutality. This sparked a wider protest wave in which around 100 inmates slashed their own veins.
The following year, the 12 went on trial for “participating in mass disorder”. Beforehand, they said, they were beaten on a regular basis.
“They were simply handcuffed and beaten,” said Kurbanov.
Eyewitnesses said the men were in such poor shape by the time they appeared in court that their own wives did not recognise them. Attempts to get judges to investigate allegations of assault were quashed.
Tajikistan has ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and torture is also outlawed by article seven of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the world’s basic human rights document.
However, there are no local procedures under which Tajik convicts can raise allegations of mistreatment.
Later in 2006, the relatives of other prisoners wrote to President Imomali Rahmon alleging numerous abuses in the country’s jails.
“In both these cases, the information given out by Tajik officials was contradictory and made it unable to establish the facts of what had happened,” said Kurbanov.
Apart from deliberate acts of violence, other problems facing the penal system seem to come down to a chronic lack of funding.
In 2006, the justice ministry admitted it was short of money and was spending 3.5 somoni, about one US dollar. a day on each prisoner.
A justice ministry official told IWPR that prison conditions were acceptable, saying they were “more or less humane” when compared with those in other Central Asian states.
In any case, he said, “There is no need for pity for the inmates. These are prisons, not holiday resorts, so the conditions should match that.”
Overcrowding, poor hygiene and inadequate nutrition contribute to health problems, serious forms of TB in particular.
Khairullo Saidov, chief prosecutor in the northern Soghd region, says prisons in his area have 39 cases of serious TB, out of 176 across the whole of Tajikistan.
Yusuf Salimov, who is deputy head of the civil liberties department in President Rahmonov’s office, acknowledged that it was currently impossible for national or international groups to monitor the state of the prisons, and that it was extremely difficult for members of the public to obtain information about it.
At the same time, Salimov held out hope that things might change with the recent appointment of a human rights ombudsman for Tajikistan.
“I hope that the human rights situation in these closed institutions will improve and that monitoring will become easier once the ombudsman is in place,” he said.
The new ombudsman, Zarif Alizoda, was approved by parliament on May 27 and says he will enjoy a wide remit.
“The ombudsman’s office will not only handle problems concerning children, the elderly, the disabled, and labour migrants, but also the rights of prison inmates,” he told his first press conference on June 3.
“We will try to provide access to penitentiary facilities for the public and for international organisations including the ICRC.”
The newly-appointed human rights ombudsman has promised to pull back the veil of secrecy and provide access for independent prison visitors.
The authorities currently refrain from releasing information about prisons or the treatment of inmates. Nor do they currently allow the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, to visit penal institutions, as standard practice in all but the most tightly controlled states.
“The Tajik penitentiary system remains closed to public scrutiny. The authorities probably have something to hide,” said analyst Abdullo Kurbonov.
This secrecy is more than practice; it is ingrained in official policy. At a press conference at the end of April, the then deputy justice minister, Rustam Mengliev, made it clear that “no information is given out” about the penal system because officially it is a “closed system”.
An official from the justice ministry’s penal affairs department, who asked to remain anonymous, acknowledged that the culture of silence was a problem.
“The lack of openness is to an extent the reason why rumours appear that may well be untrue,” he said.
When control of the prisons was handed over from the Ministry of the Interior to the justice ministry in 2002, experts hailed the reform as a significant step forward which they believed would allow many of the challenges facing the system to be resolved.
In 2004, the ICRC was for the first time allowed to go into the prisons and meet convicts. Yet this right was removed after only a few months.
According to Kurbanov, the trend now is towards greater secrecy. He believes the authorities are using national security concerns as a pretext to conceal the myriad problems in the prison camps, ranging from health issues like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis to physical and other forms of abuse by guards.
Kurbanov says Tajik human rights groups are constantly receiving letters from the relatives of inmates alleging they are subjected to assault and malnutrition.
“An inmate can be insulted or beaten for having poorly shaven face or a sullen expression,” said Habibullo, a former prisoner, who lists overcrowding, shortage of drinking water and beatings by prison guards among the worst problems.
Any attempt to raise these issues meets with denial, or stony silence. Kurbanov cited one case in 2005 when 12 prisoners at Qurghonteppa prison in southern Tajikistan began a hunger strike over what they said were poor conditions and systemic brutality. This sparked a wider protest wave in which around 100 inmates slashed their own veins.
The following year, the 12 went on trial for “participating in mass disorder”. Beforehand, they said, they were beaten on a regular basis.
“They were simply handcuffed and beaten,” said Kurbanov.
Eyewitnesses said the men were in such poor shape by the time they appeared in court that their own wives did not recognise them. Attempts to get judges to investigate allegations of assault were quashed.
Tajikistan has ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and torture is also outlawed by article seven of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the world’s basic human rights document.
However, there are no local procedures under which Tajik convicts can raise allegations of mistreatment.
Later in 2006, the relatives of other prisoners wrote to President Imomali Rahmon alleging numerous abuses in the country’s jails.
“In both these cases, the information given out by Tajik officials was contradictory and made it unable to establish the facts of what had happened,” said Kurbanov.
Apart from deliberate acts of violence, other problems facing the penal system seem to come down to a chronic lack of funding.
In 2006, the justice ministry admitted it was short of money and was spending 3.5 somoni, about one US dollar. a day on each prisoner.
A justice ministry official told IWPR that prison conditions were acceptable, saying they were “more or less humane” when compared with those in other Central Asian states.
In any case, he said, “There is no need for pity for the inmates. These are prisons, not holiday resorts, so the conditions should match that.”
Overcrowding, poor hygiene and inadequate nutrition contribute to health problems, serious forms of TB in particular.
Khairullo Saidov, chief prosecutor in the northern Soghd region, says prisons in his area have 39 cases of serious TB, out of 176 across the whole of Tajikistan.
Yusuf Salimov, who is deputy head of the civil liberties department in President Rahmonov’s office, acknowledged that it was currently impossible for national or international groups to monitor the state of the prisons, and that it was extremely difficult for members of the public to obtain information about it.
At the same time, Salimov held out hope that things might change with the recent appointment of a human rights ombudsman for Tajikistan.
“I hope that the human rights situation in these closed institutions will improve and that monitoring will become easier once the ombudsman is in place,” he said.
The new ombudsman, Zarif Alizoda, was approved by parliament on May 27 and says he will enjoy a wide remit.
“The ombudsman’s office will not only handle problems concerning children, the elderly, the disabled, and labour migrants, but also the rights of prison inmates,” he told his first press conference on June 3.
“We will try to provide access to penitentiary facilities for the public and for international organisations including the ICRC.”
