CCPR/C/118/D/2317/2013
Substantive issues:
Torture; torture — prompt and impartial
investigation; arbitrary arrest — detention;
effective remedy; fair trial; fair trial — legal
assistance; fair trial — right to be tried in one’s
presence
Articles of the Covenant:
2, 7, 9, 10 and 14
Articles of the Optional Protocol:
2 and 5 (2) (b)
1.
The author of the communication is Kayum Ortikov, a citizen of Uzbekistan, born in
1969. He claims that Uzbekistan has violated his rights under article 7, read alone and in
conjunction with article 2, and articles 9 and 14 of the Covenant. Although not specifically
invoked by the author, the communication appears also to raise issues under article 10 (1)
of the Covenant. The Optional Protocol entered into force for Uzbekistan on 28 December
1995. The author is represented by counsel, Mutabar Tadjibayeva of the Fiery Hearts Club,
an international human rights association.
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
The author is an army officer in the reserves. From 2004 to 2008 he worked as a
security guard in Tashkent at the embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. In May 2008, he assisted 11 men from his native village in concluding
work contracts with a Russian employer through an agency in Tashkent. The author did not
profit from the deal and acted on the request of the men. After working for three months in
the Russian Federation, the men returned to Uzbekistan, having not been paid for the last
two months. Seven of the men submitted complaints against the author to the
Kashkadaryinsky regional department of national security, the regional prosecutor’s office
and the department of internal affairs, requesting the unpaid salaries from the author. On 10
September 2008, the author paid $500 to each of the seven claimants; the claimants
subsequently withdrew their complaints.
2.2
At the end of September 2008, the author was summoned to the Kashkadaryinsky
regional police office to provide explanations regarding the complaints submitted and their
subsequent withdrawal. On 25 December 2008, the author was summoned to the Chilanzar
district police office, where he was charged with trafficking in persons. The author refused
to sign the respective documents in the absence of his lawyer, and instead wrote that he did
not agree with the charges. The author was then placed, without the completion of any
procedural documentation, in a cell in the basement of the police building. On 26 December
2008, the author’s brother unsuccessfully sought the author’s release on bail. The next day,
the author was visited by his lawyer, Mr. Allanazarov. On 29 December 2008, the author
was brought to the Chilanzar District Court, where his detention was approved. The
author’s lawyer was not informed in time about the hearing. The author was represented by
a State-appointed lawyer whose name he did not know, who was not familiar with his case
and who did not speak in court. Subsequent requests of the author to see his lawyer were
ignored; they met with each other only on 15 January 2009, the first day of the trial.
2.3
On 29 January 2009, the Chilanzar District Court found the author guilty of
trafficking of persons under article 135 (2) (b), (e), (f), (h) and (i) of the Criminal Code and
sentenced him to 6 years in prison. During the hearing, the alleged victims testified that
they had withdrawn their complaints and had no claims against the author since he had paid
their salaries. Their testimonies were not taken into account by the court. Responding to the
question from the author’s lawyer about the reason for such an unfair sentence, the judge
said that there was an instruction “from above” and he could not do anything about it.
2.4
On an unspecified date in 2009, the alleged victims appealed the decision of the
Chilanzar District Court of 29 January 2009 to the Tashkent City Court. The victims were
2
GE.17-01270