DUSHANBE, July 4, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik Ombudsman Zarif Alizoda has applied to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Lukin with solicitation to assist him with founding out the cause of death of Tajik national Fotima Ghafarova in the pretrial detention facility of the Russian city of Kurgan.

Ms. Fotima Ghafarova reportedly arrived in Russia at the end of last year to join her husband Begmuhammad Ghafarov.  On arrival in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk, she was detained by officers from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on suspicion of having organized illegal arrival of foreign citizens and stateless persons in Russia and illegal transit of them via the territory of the Russian Federation.

Fotima Ghafarova was placed in the pretrial detention facility of the city of Kurgan, where she died on March 9 this year.

According to her relatives, they were not informed of her arrest and she was not provided with a defense.  The relatives say torture was used against Fotima Ghafarova and signs found on her body after the death are evidence of that.