E/CN.4/2003/68/Add.2 page 47 the Office of the Procurator of the Zanghiota District, and from there to Tashturma. It is reported that his relatives were not officially informed about either of these transfers. According to the information received, despite the fact that his mother had addressed numerous public officials, including the procurator in Zangiata, to know the whereabouts and state of health of her son, who is said to be suffering from tuberculosis, it was only on 16 March 2001 that Aleksander Sergeevich Kornetov’s relatives were informed that he had been transferred to the Tashturma. It is alleged that in the meantime, his case had been transferred to the Office of the General Procurator of the Republic. An exhumation of the corpse of the person he had allegedly murdered was reportedly ordered. The exhumation is said to have revealed that the body that was exhumed was not the one of the person that Aleksander Sergeevich Kornetov was accused of having murdered. It is, however, believed that the procurator sent the case with murder charges to the court. During the whole pre-trial investigation, Aleksander Sergeevich Kornetov is reported not to have had access to a lawyer. According to the information received, he appeared in court with a large mark on his forehead and cuts on his wrists. During the trial, he reportedly refused to acknowledge his confession, and stated that he had been tortured and forced to sign it. According to the information received, the court did not take into account any material evidence in its deliberations. On 7 August 2001, Aleksander Sergeevich Kornetov was sentenced to death. On appeal, the sentence was reportedly upheld. The Supreme Court eventually commuted the sentence to 20 years’ imprisonment. At the time of writing, Aleksander Sergeevich Kornetov was serving his term at the Andijan prison. Valerij Sergheevich Agabekov, aged 27, was reportedly arrested, together with his brother-in-law, on 28 January 2001 at 7 a.m., following a fight between the brother-in-law and another two people. He reportedly only witnessed the fight. Upon arrest, Valerij Sergheevich Agabekov and his brother-in-law were said to have been taken to the Akhangaran District Police Station, in Tashkent Province. It is said that, seven days later, his mother was allowed to see him for a few minutes after having allegedly bribed the officer on duty. Valerij Sergheevich Agabekov was reportedly taken for investigations to Tashkent City Department of the MVD for two months, and was reportedly severely beaten and ill-treated during pre-trial investigation in order to make him confess to murder. According to the information received, as a result of the treatment he was allegedly subjected to, he lost consciousness several times, his jaw was broken, he had blood in his urine, and he lost two teeth. It is also reported that he was handcuffed and tied to a radiator and his head was hit repeatedly against it. A plastic bag was allegedly placed over his head and an investigator is reported to have shouted the following: “either you confess or you will be dead before your trial”. It is alleged that his brother-in-law was also ill-treated during investigation. It is believed that they never received any kind of medical care or assistance. Valeri Serghei Agabekov was reportedly accused of murder on the basis of his brother-in-law’s confession. On 18 September 2001, both were sentenced to death on charges of murder by the Tashkent Regional Court. During the trial, they are said to have pleaded innocent and requested further investigation. The death sentences were reportedly upheld by the Board of the court on 12 November 2001. On 23 April 2002, their death sentences were commuted to 12 years’ imprisonment by the Collegium of the Supreme Court. Their families were reportedly not informed about this. It is believed that it was only on 10 May, when Valeri Serghei Agabekov’s mother saw her son at Tashkent train station - where she had gone following rumours that he would be transported to the Andijan prison on that day - that she learnt that their sentences had been commuted.