DUSHANBE, July 4, 2013, Asia-Plus – The Amnesty International report “Return to Torture: Extradition, Forcible Returns and Removals to Central Asia” gives details about Amnesty International’s long-standing concerns about the risks of extradition and other forms of forcible return to torture and other ill-treatment in Central Asia and concentrates on five Central Asian states, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, giving examples of the treatment people have been subjected to in those countries. It also documents the cases of many people who have been returned to these countries and the absence of procedural safeguards or deficiencies in due process in the returning countries, in particular Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine, which led to the returns.  It concludes with recommendations at national and international levels to each of the states concerned, and to international organizations that have some influence over counter-terrorism policy and practice in these countries.

The report is based on fact finding visits to the relevant countries over the past ten years, as well as on a wide range of additional research on the issues of extradition, forcible return, torture and other ill-treatment and impunity. In the course of this research Amnesty International delegates talked with representatives of international governmental and non-governmental organizations, regional and national human rights organizations, expert lawyers, academics, and individuals affected by extradition and forcible removal and their relatives.

In Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and to a lesser degree in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the authorities frequently seek the extradition from neighboring countries and Russia and Ukraine of suspected members of banned Islamic movements or Islamist parties.

In Tajikistan, there are regular reports that people have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment by police and security officers, often in order to “solve” crimes by obtaining confessions.

Some positive developments in reducing the incidence of torture in Tajikistan have occurred since 2010, including the April 2012 introduction of a new article in the criminal code criminalizing torture.

However, reports of incidents of torture and other ill-treatment of suspects in the early stages of detention continue, indicating that it remains a persistent problem in the country.  Despite the first case of a police officer being convicted for torture in September 2012, a general climate of impunity persists, with reports of delays in forensic examinations being common, prosecutor’s offices failing to act on and not replying to individual complaints of torture or simply responding that they were unfounded without providing further explanations.  In addition, in many cases people are afraid of lodging complaints about torture and other ill-treatment for fear of reprisals.  Despite the Criminal Procedural Code stating that evidence obtained through torture should be excluded from court, there were no cases in the year where judges implemented exclusionary measures.

Amnesty International’s research has found that most of those extradited, or otherwise forcibly returned or removed to Tajikistan are held in incommunicado detention for several weeks after their return, thereby increasing their risk of being tortured or otherwise ill-treated.

Amnesty International’s research indicates that Tajikistan has particularly requested the extradition of individuals accused or suspected of being involved in or sympathetic to banned Islamic groups or Islamist parties.  Many of these extradition requests have been made by Tajikistan to Russia.

In November 2012 during the examination of Tajikistan’s periodic report to the UN Committee against Torture the Committee expressed its concern at “reports of extradition requests made by the State party of persons alleged to be members of banned Islamic groups, who, upon return to Tajikistan, are reportedly held in incommunicado detention and in solitary confinement, and subjected to torture and/or ill-treatment by law enforcement officials.”  The Special Rapporteur on torture reported hearing “testimonies pointing to a pattern of kidnapping, reappearance, remand and forcible return to Tajikistan, incommunicado detention and solitary confinement in the buildings of the State Committee for National Security or the Sixth Department, or transfer to pre-trial detention facilities under their jurisdiction, and interrogations over the course of several months.”

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in several cases since 2010 that Tajikistani nationals would be at a real risk of torture, and their rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights would be violated, if extradited to Tajikistan.

Amnesty International believes that many of those people whose extradition is requested by Tajikistan are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment if returned to the country.

In Tajikistan, national legislation does not prohibit the extradition of individuals to a country where they are at risk of torture.  Extradition issues are mainly regulated by bi-lateral agreements as well as regional instruments such as the Minsk and Chisinau Conventions and the Shanghai convention on combating terrorism, separatism and extremism.

The procedures for appealing against extradition decisions on the grounds of fear of torture or other ill-treatment are opaque.