Death of a 15-year-old boy in Kokand DIA: why are details of the case being hidden?

On October 16, Ravshanbek Abdusattarov took 17,000 soums worth of dry food and energy drinks from the “Ansar” shopping complex located in Uchkuprik district, Fergana region, and tried to leave without paying. The securities who were watching reported this to the district DIA. After that, the teenager was taken away from the shopping complex by police officers. Ravshanbek Abdusattorov was first taken to the Buvayda district DIA, and then to the Juvenile Socio-Legal Assistance Center in Kokand.

On October 18, the body of the child was given to his relatives. A Kun.uz correspondent conducted a journalistic inquiry into the mysterious death.

Pulatjon Kuchkarov, the uncle of the deceased, said that his nephew was bruised from the beating.

“I have only one sister. She got married and divorced. Ravshanjon was my sister’s only son. We raised him with my mother.

Prophylactic inspectors took my nephew to the Juvenile Center and did not let him sleep at night. The boy was beaten to death. When his mother went to the center, they said: “your child has fallen asleep, we will release him the next day”.

I suspect that DIA officers are involved in this process. They beat Ravshanbek to death and blamed the children being raised in the center for committing this crime. When I ask them to show me the children who are accused of beating my nephew to death, for some reason they are reluctant to meet me. People who tortured and killed Ravshanbek should be held responsible.

It is very scary to see my nephew’s corpse. He was smashed. His back is stained, the facial parts are cracked. We raised this child without a father for 15 years.

His mother is 45 years old. Now who will take care of this mother?” he says.

“They killed my son and hid it from me”

“In 2007, my family broke up and I returned to my father’s house when my son Ravshanbek was a baby. I raised my child alone without a father. Raising a child was not easy. I did not remarry so that my child would not be left in the hands of a stepfather. I gave my son to a furniture maker for an apprenticeship so that he could learn craftsmanship after school.

On Sunday, October 16, I went out to pick cotton. My son went to the “Ansar” store on his bicycle after going to work at the furniture shop that day. When Ravshanbek’s office got too many orders, he often stayed there and came home the next day. He did not come home on October 16. I thought that he must have stayed in his office as usual.

The next day, on October 17, when I called his master, he said that my son did not stay at work. After that we started looking for him. In the evening at about 21:30, the prophylactic inspector called to say that my son was in the juvenile detention center and they were asking for my phone number. I received a call from the center, they asked if my son had any health problems. A little later, a woman and a man came our home from the same center. I went to the center with them. The employee left me outside, went inside alone and came back 2 hours later. At that time, my son had already passed away. They hid it from me.

Despite my request, they did not show my child. The head of the center came in at 01:00 at night. They sent me back saying that “your child is sleeping, we will send a car to your house the next morning at 8:00 a.m., and you will come and pick up your child then”.

The promised car did not arrive the next day. I didn’t have the patience to  wait and went to the center. When I arrived in the city, my brothers received a call and they were told that my boy was in the morgue. We had to come and see the body before the forensic examination.

I do not sleep at night. When I think about how my son died in the hands of others, I can’t find a place to put myself. I feel pity that I live in a country where single mothers have no money and their children are being killed. I demand that the culprits should be found and punished,” the deceased’s mother said.

The deceased’s grandfather, Tursunali Kuchkarov, went everywhere in search of his grandson who disappeared without a trace.

“I went to the Department of Internal Affairs after my grandson disappeared. They said he was not there. The next day I went to the DIA again. Ravshanbek disappeared. A day later, his body was taken out of the morgue. My grandson grew up without a father, he was a very gentle and humble boy,” he said.

The head of the furniture workshop, Anvarjon Mukhtorov, said that the late Ravshanbek had been working under him for 2 years, he was good at making furniture, and he was an introvert boy.

He added that since the boy was growing up without a father, he was learning craftsmanship to help his mother. On October 17, his student cleaned the workshop at 10:00 and went home.

When we went to the Juvenile Socio-Legal Assistance Center in Kokand city to inquire about the details of the fatal incident, the employee who knew that we were from Kun.uz stayed inside and said that he would report our arrival to the center’s head without opening the door.

Although a long time passed, the door was not opened. When the doorbell was repeatedly rang, one of the employees came out of the doorway and said that the center head was not at work. There was no attempt to open the door from the inside.

The mother and uncle of the deceased started pushing the gate of the center from the outside to get inside. The gate lock was broken from the inside, the gate was opened and we entered. One of the employees accused the Kun.uz correspondent of breaking the gate.

The most interesting thing is that the employees who were watching us from the surveillance camera inside tried to assure us that there is no one in the center, that all the employees, including the manager, have changed. Getting comment on the situation was as usual unsuccessful.

After that, we went to the “Ansar” shopping center, where the deceased took the goods and left without paying. Khusanjon Gafurov, who introduced himself as the center’s assistant manager, explained the incident related to the theft as follows:

“On October 16, a teenager, who entered our shopping center as a customer, took a piece of energy drink and a piece of “qurut” (dry food) and left without paying. He was stopped by the securities, and we reported the situation to the district DIA.

Dry food worth 5,000 soums taken away without payment

Energy drink worth 12,000 soums taken away without payment

After clarifying the situation from the camera, we called the DIA inspectors to the center. They collected the boy,” he said.

In what condition was the deceased taken to the DIA? We went to Buvayda district DIA to get information about the condition of the child when he was taken to the Juvenile Socio-Legal Assistance Center in the city of Kokand.

The employee, who introduced himself as the deputy head of the DIA, said that he could not comment on the situation as expected, and all information had to be received only through the information service of the regional DIA. He even emphasized that it is not possible to photograph the DIA building.

The death of citizens in the DIA facilities of Fergana region has recently caused public protests. First, a 60-year-old citizen died suspiciously in the hands of DIA officers in the city of Kuvasoy. On November 8, a prisoner kept in the DIA Temporary Detention Center of the Public Security Service of Kokan city died of heart disease.

In connection with the mysterious death of Ravshanbek Abdusattarov, a criminal case was initiated by the Kokand city prosecutor’s office, and a precautionary measure in the form of “imprisonment” was applied against two persons directly involved in the crime. A service check was appointed against employees of the Regional DIA.

The Children’s Ombudsman is controlling the case, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs were addressed. Reportedly, the current situation at the facility is being investigated and the public will be notified.