HRW accuses Uzbek government of “torture” of political prisoners

Political prisoners in Uzbekistan suffer ” torture ” and living in ” appalling ” conditions, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). Reported abuses are simulations of suffocation with plastic bags and gas masks; sexual assault and use of electroshock. The NGO requires the Government “the immediate and unconditional release” of prisoners.

The report -from more than 100 pages, entitled ” All the Way ” – emphasizes that those arrested are activists, journalists and government critics, who have fought for democratic reform in the country or heading changes in the cultural, artistic, religious sphere and philosophical. The NGO has interviewed and analyzed the cases of 34 prisoners and 10 express current.

Those interviewed by HRW claim that the security services have suffocated them with plastic bags and gas masks, have threatened to physically assault their families have been denied access to food or water, have humbled them, abused them sexually and have them tortured using electric shock.

Steve Swerdlow, a researcher at HRW Central Asia, said that at least 29 of these 44 cases can be shown to have been mistreated, abused or ” torture ” either during the pretrial and compliance their sentences. ” Tashkent can not pretend much longer that political imprisonment not exist in Uzbekistan,” he added.

Uzbekistan has denied the existence of political prisoners in its jails. Authorities say the abuses are being eliminated and that some officers accused of torture have been prosecuted.

HRW also claims that some sentences have been extended arbitrarily as the pacifist opposition Murod Juraev, whose sentence has been extended by the Government four times since his imprisonment in 1994 The last time was in 2012 when he was accused of ” peel carrots incorrectly “in the kitchen of the prison. ” The torture, kidnapping, detentions incommunicado solitary confinement and expanding sentences are unspeakable abuses that no person should be ” assured Swerdlov.

The NGO also emphasizes that the Western powers -EE States and Europe have prefix as the usefulness of Uzbekistan to Afghanistan path to sanctions for the violation of Human Rights. HRW urges these countries to impose economic and military sanctions Tashkent. ” Uzbekistan ‘s international partners should say to President Karimov will pay a heavy price unless the government to stop detaining and torturing peaceful activists, journalists and religious believers.”

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Posted by Jamshed Sindhu on Sep 29 2014. Filed under World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.