Prison Torture in Uzbekistan Comes Under Renewed International Scrutiny

A series of recent disclosures about abuse has resurrected questions about the use of torture in Uzbekistan's prisons. Following criticism from both a prominent human rights organization and a US congressman, Uzbek President Islam Karimov offered to open one of his largest prisons to outside inspection. Nevertheless, prison safeguards against the use of torture remain unclear.

The use of torture in Uzbek prisons has long been an issue complicating the international community's relationship with Tashkent. A US State Department memorandum issued in mid May described Uzbek authorities as increasingly willing to address the torture issue. However, at the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, held in early May in Tashkent, Karimov angered human rights activists by declining to specifically condemn the practice. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

On June 3, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published an advisory detailing the apparent torture death of Otamaza Gafarov, who had been due to be released in September after serving a seven-year prison term for stealing state property. According to the HRW advisory, Gafarov died May 3 – a day before the start of the EBRD gathering. "When they [Gafarov's relatives] retrieved his bruised body, prison authorities told them that he died of a heart attack, although one guard told the family that Gafarov's death