Open Society Justice Initiative Calls for a Fair Trial in Kyrgyzstan

BAZAR-KORGON, Kyrgyzstan—The Open Society Justice Initiative today called for a fair trial for Zulkhumor Tokhtanozarova, who is being held on charges of theft which she is believed to have confessed to under torture.

Tokhtanozarova, an Uzbek woman from Kyrgyzstan, has made serious allegations of torture in connection with a prior case, claiming that in 2003 prison officials abused her and other female pretrial detainees, trading them to male prisoners for sex. Although her allegations led to a conviction and prison sentence for one official, he was promptly granted amnesty. The Justice Initiative now fears that authorities are determined to retaliate against Tokhtanozarova for her continued effort to pursue remedies against officials. (Please see case history below.)

In a predawn raid on June 16, 2006, seven police agents seized Tohtanozarova from her home and took her, barefoot, to the Preliminary Detention Center in Nooken, Kyrgyzstan, where she is currently being held on a pretrial detention warrant. However, Tohtanozarova says she has not seen the warrant, and her family has reported that they are being denied access to her and blackmailed with threats that her jailers will not feed her without a bribe.

Tokhtanozarova was not provided with a lawyer until the Justice Initiative committed one to work on her behalf. Her trial is scheduled for July 3, 2006, in Bazar-Korgon District Court, Bazar-Korgon, Kyrgyzstan. The Justice Initiative calls on the Kyrgyz authorities to meet their international obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil an Political Rights. They should guarantee Tokhtanozarova a fair trial, and duly investigate her allegations of torture. If these are determined to be well-founded the court should block the use of evidence obtained through such illegal measures. Additionally, the authorities should take appropriate disciplinary and penal actions against those responsible.

Case History

In March 2003, Zulkhumor Tokhtanozarova, age 23, and three other women were detained by police on minor theft changes. Placed in police custody, the women were held for six months without a warrant or access to a lawyer.

According to Tokhtanozarova, she and other women were repeatedly beaten by the police, denied regular food and water and traded to male prisoners for sex. In September 2003, while still a prisoner, Tokhtanozarova was taken to a civic hospital, where she gave birth prematurely to a girl, who died the next day. Subsequently, Tokhtanozarova was released on pretrial parole and sought help from a human rights nongovernmental organization, Vozdukh, concerning her treatment in prison.

The nongovernmental organization widely publicized her story, leading to a government investigation and subsequent trial of four prison guards and disciplinary proceedings against two investigators. As a result, one investigator was demoted and one guard was sentenced to a year in prison, although he was immediately granted amnesty and released.

Tokhtanozarova was found guilty on minor theft charges and sentenced to one year of probation.

According to the information received from Vozdukh, on September 9, 2005, Tokhtanozarova was again detained on allegations of theft and placed in police custody, where she was interrogated without a lawyer. Tokhtanozarova says that during the interrogation, the investigator, Maksat Zhamankulov, referred to the 2003 case and expressed his anger over the charges brought against his colleagues. According to her, he insulted her, threatened to scald her with boiling water and tortured her by jamming needles under her fingernails. She said she was forced to sign the confession of having committed the theft.

Tokhtanozarova was released on pretrial parole on September 15, 2005, and went back to Vozdukh, where her injuries were documented on videotape. The nongovernmental organization brought a complaint before the local prosecutor, who apparently initiated an investigation against Zhamankulov.

In recent months, Tokhtanozarova complained to the nongovernmental organization that she has been visited on several occasions by police who demanded that she drop the torture allegations against Zhamankulov.

Finally, on June 16, 2006, Tokhtanozarova was seized by police in a predawn raid. According to her, she was beaten upon arrest by the police officer and then taken to the preliminary detention center in Nooken.

To date, Tokhtanozarova remains at the Preliminary Detention Center. Her family has been denied access to her and they allege that prison staff have blackmailed the family by insisting that unless they receive bribes, she will not get food in prison.

Tokhtanozarova did not have a lawyer until the Open Society Justice Initiative arranged for Azimzhan Askarov to represent her. A human rights defender from Vozdukh, Askarov, was menaced by Zhamankulov, the investigator who is alleged to have tortured Tokhtanozarova during the September 2005 interrogation. According to Askarov, Zhamankulov threatened prosecution against him and his nongovernmental organization.