A/HRC/28/68/Add.1 sentencing of Mr. Ikromzoda’s fellow inmates Mr. Sadriddin Toshev and Mr. Sunattulo Rizoev, as well as other inmates. 529. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Tajikistan for its reply, dated 27.08.2014, to the present communication. 530. The Rapporteur takes note of the information provided by the Government that Tajikistan that an investigation surrounding the death of Mr. Ikromzoda was conducted, which resulted in a report that attributed the death to suicide. Further, the Rapporteur takes note of the Government’s report that Mr. Toshev and Mr. Rizoev have been charged with disrupting the functioning of the penitentiary system and false denunciation and alleged investigations did not lead to evidence of torture or reprisals; further, that Mr. Toshev appeared in a video statement allegedly retracting statements about Mr. Ikromzoda’s death. 531. The Rapporteur finds that the Government, in its reply, does not sufficiently address the concerns raised in the initial communication, which prompts him to infer that the Government fails to fully and expeditiously cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 25/13, as well as to comply with its obligation, under international customary law, to investigate, prosecute and punish all acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as codified, inter alia, in the Convention against Torture (CAT). 532. The information provided by the Government is unpersuasive as to the alleged suicide in custody of Mr. Ikromzoda or the lack of evidence of retaliation against Messrs. Tosheve and Rizoev. In particular, no explanation is given for the transfer of the latter two inmates to a remote prison after they claimed to have witnessed severe mistreatment of Mr. Ikromzoda. A recantation via video of testimony by an inmate that is under the absolute control of the penitentiary system must be treated with a high degree of scepticism. Fundamentally, the Government’s reply fails to demonstrate that the inquiries into the death of Mr. Ikromzoda and into the allegations made by the two other inmates were surrounded by guarantees of independence, impartiality and promptness and were not interfered with or influenced by the interests of penitentiary personnel to protect colleagues and cover up wrongdoing. The Rapporteur believes – on the basis of the information received and of interviews conducted during his follow-up visit to Tajikistan in February 2014 – that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication and that the Government should have made a serious attempt to provide accountability for what appears to have been very grave violations of the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Ikromzoda, Mr. Toshev and Mr. Rizoev. He concludes that their right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by articles 1 and 16 of the CAT, has been violated by the Government and he urges it to conduct a proper, credible, independent and impartial investigation into the events. (c) JUA 23/06/2014 Case No. TJK 4/2014 State Reply: 21/07/2014 Allegations of arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention and enforced disappearance of Mr. Alexander Sodiqov. 533. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Tajikistan for its reply, dated 21.07.2014, to the present communication. 534. The Rapporteur takes note of the information provided by the Government of Tajikistan that Mr. Sodikov is currently detained in the State Committee on National Security detention facility and that there is an ongoing investigation for treason; however, his guilt has not been established. The Rapporteur also takes not that Mr. Sodikov has had access to lawyers. 535. The Rapporteur finds that the Government, in its reply, does not sufficiently address the concerns raised in the initial communication. In particular, the reply fails to indicate 89