HRW condemns death of prisoners

London-based NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned the suspicious deaths of two Uzbek prisoners, saying that there has still not been any response from the government regarding the horrific circumstances under which they died. "We have repeatedly been in touch with the Uzbek authorities but with little effect," London director for HRW, Steve Crawshaw, told IRIN on Tuesday from the capital city. Human rights activist Muzaffar Avazov and Khuzniddin Alimov were reportedly jailed for refusing to worship at state-sanctioned mosques. According to human rights groups they died after being subjected to torture at the Jaslyk camp near the Aral sea region of western Uzbekistan and died 8 August. "What we are left with is the horror," he added, stressing that no one from the international community was taking any notice of these incidents. "The failure of recognising such acts will backfire, as we have seen happen in other countries," he maintained. People who saw one of the bodies told HRW that it showed clear signs of torture. The authorities reportedly restricted viewing of the second body. Both men had been imprisoned at Jaslyk Prison, well-known for its harsh conditions and ill-treatment of religious prisoners. HRW learned that the body of Avazov, a 35-year old father of four, showed signs of burns on the legs, buttocks, lower back and arms. According to official sources 60 to 70 percent of the body was badly scalded. Doctors who saw the body reported that such scalds could only have been caused by immersing Avazov in boiling water. Those who saw the body also reported that there was a large, bloody wound on the back of the head, heavy bruising on the forehead and side of the neck, and that his hands had no fingernails. "These deaths reveal the horror of Uzbek prisons," said Elizabeth Andersen, executive director of HRW's Europe and Central Asia Division. "It seems the small signs of progress on torture we had seen were mere window-dressing, intended to hide Uzbekistan's persistent problem and placate international critics." The European Union also issued a statement expressing its concern over the deaths. "The European Union is of the opinion that an independent and thorough investigation into the matter would be helpful to clarify the exact circumstances (of the deaths)". The UN's committee against torture has expressed concern over human rights reports in the Central Asian country published by Amnesty International (AI) entitled "Concerns in Europe". It concluded that there were "ongoing and consistent allegations of particularly brutal acts of torture or other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment committed by law enforcement personnel". It also found prison conditions unacceptable and considered detainees' access to a lawyer, doctor of their own choice and to family members as inadequate. AI said it too had raised similar concerns for a long time with the Uzbek authorities and urged them to take appropriate steps to end torture and ill-treatment in the country. HRW believes the international community should be intervening and has criticised the US State Department, saying that it has exaggerated Uzbekistan's human rights gains, in order to maintain foreign assistance to that country's government. According to the human rights organistaion, in a US document released on 26 August, which has not been released to the public, Secretary of State Colin Powell reported to the US Congress that Uzbekistan was making "substantial and continuing progress" in meeting the human rights and democracy commitments contained in a joint declaration signed with US officials in March 2002. The State Department's endorsement was required for US $45 million in additional assistance to the Uzbek government to be released, under legislation enacted by Congress in July. "The State Department did not use this law as it was intended," said Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for HRW. "We expected a proactive effort. All we got was a pro-forma report." The US has publicly expressed concern about recent setbacks in Uzbekistan, which include deaths in custody of religious prisoners and the forced psychiatric detention of a human rights defender. However, HRW says that the State Department has made no attempt to use the new law to leverage additional progress on those concerns before it made its positive determination.