CCPR/C/126/D/2356/2014 3.4 In addition, Mr. Ismanov was not able to communicate freely with the lawyer of his choice, in violation of his rights under article 14 (3) (b) of the Covenant. 3.5 The authors also claim that Mr. Ismanov was tortured with the aim of forcing him to confess his guilt, in violation of his rights under article 14 (3) (g) of the Covenant.3 His lawyer invited the court to disregard his forced confessions, but to no avail. 3.6 The authors further claim that Mr. Ismanov’s rights under article 7, read alone and in conjunction with article 2 (3), of the Covenant were violated as his complaints about torture and mistreatment were either rejected or ignored. They also claim therefore that the State party has failed to effectively investigate their claims of torture and ill-treatment and to provide a remedy. 3.7 Ms. Nazhmutdinova claims that she was told that her husband had been taken away with a bag on his head, and that she was not able to ascertain his whereabouts for several days, which caused her severe shock and distress. She was afraid that she would never see him alive again. She also suffered from suicidal thoughts. She therefore believes that the treatment she experienced at the hands of the authorities amounts to a violation of her rights under article 7 of the Covenant. State party’s observations on admissibility and the merits 4.1 In a note verbale dated 14 May 2014,4 the State party submits that on 3 September 2010 a suicide bomber, K.A., drove a vehicle into the Sughd Regional Department, where the car exploded killing several officers and partly destroying the building. On the same date, the Sughd Regional Prosecutor initiated a criminal investigation, which was led by a group of investigators from several law enforcement agencies. 4.2 The findings of the investigation are indisputable: the crime was committed by members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a terrorist organization, which, in 2011, started to call itself the Turkistan Islamic Party. This group was recognized as a terrorist organization by a decision of the Supreme Court on 30 March 2006. The activities of this organization are prohibited in other countries, such as the Russian Federation, several European countries and the United States of America. The suicide bomber himself, K.A., was subject to an arrest warrant in Tajikistan before the bombing, on charges of multiple kidnappings. 4.3 As part of the investigation that was initiated against K.A., police officers detained Mr. Ismanov. On 3 November 2010, he was brought to the Sughd Regional Department. The investigation established that K.A. was an active member of the Turkistan Islamic Party. On 10 November 2010, Mr. Ismanov was charged with being a member of a criminal group or criminal organization under article 187 (2) of the Criminal Code. Previously, Mr. Ismanov had already been convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for hooliganism and resisting a police officer but had been released due to an amnesty after serving four months of his sentence. 4.4 On 13 November 2010,5 the Khujand City Court approved Mr. Ismanov’s pretrial detention. During the investigation, Mr. Ismanov confessed partial guilt. The investigation was completed and the criminal case was brought to court on 1 June 2011. By a judgment of the Sughd Regional Court dated 23 December 2011, Mr. Ismanov was found guilty under article 187 (2) (being a member of a criminal organization) of the Criminal Code and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment. 4.5 In their cassation appeal, Mr. Ismanov and other co-defendants complained that they had been tortured by police officers during the pretrial investigation. When asked why they had not complained to the “competent authorities” about torture, they claimed that they wanted to bring up these issues during the trial. On 17 August 2012, the Supreme Court 3 4 5 4 Mr. Ismanov refers to the Committee’s jurisprudence, including in Marinich v. Belarus (CCPR/C/99/D/1502/2006). The State party submitted additional observations dated 16 September 2014, but they contained no new information. Mr. Ismanov alleges that the correct date is 12 November 2010.