DUSHANBE, January 19, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, Minister of Justice Rustam Mengliyev noted on January 19 that no cases of use of torture in penitentiary facilities were reported in 2011.

“We do not have official information about the cases of use of torture in penitentiary facilities,” Mengliyev said.  According to him, adequate measures are being taken to improve prison conditions.

The minister, in particular, noted that the law on the procedure of holding a suspect or a defendant took affect last year and a number of new pretrial detention facilities were built in Khujand, Kulob and Khorog in 2011 under the program aimed to improve material and technical basis of the penitentiary facilities.

“Last year, representatives from public associations, media and diplomatic missions visited the country’s penitentiary facilities and their reports were published in media outlets,” Mengliyev said.

Meanwhile, as far as use of torture and degrading mistreatment in penitentiary facilities is concerned, it is to be noted that a 32-year-old Ismoil Bachajonov, who was convicted last year for drug pushing, died in Dushanbe’s pretrial facility detention in June 2011 after reportedly being beaten.

We will recall that Abduqodir Muhammadiyev, First Deputy Prosecutor-General, told a news conference in Dushanbe on January 10 that 26 torture complaints were registered last year and only five of them were confirmed.

Human rights activists, however, note that torture and beating still remain serious problem and law enforcement officers are continuing to use systematic beating to extort confessions.