E/CN.4/2003/68/Add.2 page 43 Abdullayev Bozithan was reportedly arrested at home in Narabad on 7 February 2000. According to the information received, he and his family were taken to the Namangan City police station where he was interrogated about the fact that the family had been praying at a Gombad mosque. It is believed that, 11 months before their arrest, the family had already written a repentance letter about this. Abdullayev Bozithan’s wife is said to have tried to use this letter to gain access to her husband while he was being interrogated. Later that night, they were all released, but Abdullayev Bozithan was asked to report to the police station the following morning. Less than half an hour after having returned home, he was reportedly taken back to the police station to sign some papers. According to the arresting officers, he was supposed to be back home after one hour. As he did not return that night, his wife reportedly went to the police station the following morning where she was told by Abdullayev Bozithan that investigators were trying to make him confess to illegal possession of firearms. His wife is said to have stayed in the police station for five consecutive days. On the fifth day, she is reported to have been interrogated and shown confessions allegedly written by her husband, in which the latter confessed of drug trafficking and religious extremism. She briefly saw him half-conscious. A month later, she is said to have been able to visit her husband at the police station where he told her that he had been beaten on the head, back and legs. As a result of the treatment he had allegedly been subjected to, he had reportedly signed a number of papers whose contents he knew nothing about. He was eventually charged under article 159. On 2 May 2000, the Namangan District Court is said to have sentenced him to 14 years’ imprisonment. It is alleged that no evidence was produced in court against him, except the confessions that he had been forced to sign. It is reported that he raised torture allegations during the trial. The investigator in the case is said to have denied these allegations and the judge to have accepted the latter’s version of the facts without further investigation. During a hearing at the Supreme Court on 15 August, his lawyer is believed to have proved that evidence against Abdullayev Bozithan had been fabricated. As a result, the sentence is said to have been reduced to eight years. It is believed that he was transferred to colony 64/3 near Tashkent after having spent some time in Tashturma. Jodjorbek Hadjimatov was reportedly arrested in Andijan in March 2000 as a suspected member of Hizb-ut-Tahrir. He was reportedly severely beaten in the main city police department by three or four officers. As a result, he is said to have signed a confession admitting that he had disseminated Hizb-ut-Tahrir leaflets. After 10 days, he was transferred to the SIZO located at the Andijan prison. During the pre-trial investigation, he was reportedly taken to the psychiatric clinic to see whether he was criminally responsible. There, he is said to have managed to hand his mother his bloodstained jacket. During his trial in November 2000, he reportedly told the judge that he had been beaten like a punching bag and that the guards had told him that they had taken pleasure in beating him. The judge is said to have asked him why he did not complain to the procurator. The procurator is said to have been absent practically during the whole trial. On the last day, he is said to have turned up, to have stated his opinion and to have left. Jodjorbek Hadjimatov was reportedly sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment pursuant to article 159 of the Criminal Code. He is presently said to be detained in Chirchik colony 6. The allegations of torture, including the bloodstained jacket, have reportedly been raised with the procurator’s office and the Ombudsman. However, according to the information received, no investigation has ever been ordered in the allegations of torture and no medical examination was said to have been carried out. In spring 2001, his sentence is said to have been reduced to 12 years on appeal.