E/CN.4/2003/68/Add.2 page 62 body were pinched with pliers. It is alleged that his fingernails were pulled out and hit with a hammer. He was also allegedly hit on the head with a metal pipe three times. At that point, he is said to have lost consciousness and to have had his head bleeding. He was reportedly taken out of the room. SNB officers reportedly took his wife, his two daughters and his mother to a hospital, where they were all X-rayed with a view to find out whether they had swallowed any drug pouches. Nothing was found. SNB officers are said to have twisted his mother’s arms and to have tried to force her to swallow a medical probe. She was then allegedly hit on the head four or five times in order to force her to swallow the probe, to no avail. On that night, the family of Kulmuradov Musurmon was kept by SNB officers at the hospital. They were eventually released on the following day around noon. On that day, the family was reportedly informed around 9 p.m. that Kulmuradov Musurmon had died in the SNB office. His body had reportedly been transferred to the Surkhandarya Regional SNB office. His father and brothers were not allowed to go in the building. They reportedly spent the night right in the car in front of the building. The following day, his father was able to meet the head of the regional SNB office at around 2 p.m. This SNB official is said to have suggested that they should not write any complaint letters. According to the information received, he also promised his father that he would help with everything as long as no complaint was lodged. He reportedly added that Kulmuradov Musurmon’s body was examined, that heroin bags were found hidden in his stomach and that the reason of the death was that some bags had burst. It is believed that a criminal file against Kulmuradov Musurmon was opened and that he was charged with article 273 of the Criminal Code. According to the forensic expert who conducted the examination, Kulmuradov Musurmon had three ribs broken. It is believed that heroin wrapped in plastic was put into his mouth and then moved into his body under high pressure of water. However, according to the information received, heroin bags got stuck in his larynx. The forensic expert is also said to have indicated that a lot of water was found in his body. The head and officers of the regional SNB office are said to have threatened his father and brothers that they would spend the rest of their lives in prison if they tried to ask for a re-examination of the corpse. The corpse was reportedly taken back home at around 6 p.m. on that day. Upon pressure from SNB officers, the family was forced to bury the body without being allowed to have an independent forensic examination carried out. A number of photos (that were made available to the Special Rapporteur) were taken. His mother is reported to have asked the regional prosecutor’s office to order a re-examination of the body, to no avail. She was reportedly told to go to the regional SNB office and that it was not the duty of the procurator’s office to review SNB officers’ activities. Then, the family is reported to have appealed to the regional military procurator’s office, where the deputy procurator refused to register their complaint. When his mother went to Denov and Termez city postal/telegraph service in order to send appeals to various public administrations regarding her son’s death, the employees are said to have refused to accept her communications because they had been briefed to do so. On 17 November, two officers in military uniforms, who introduced themselves as officers of the military procurator’s office, are said to have come to Kulmuradov Musurmon’s house to ask about the person who had taken the pictures of the body and the reason for taking those pictures. It is reported that they asked for the original film. They are also said to have threatened the mother that they would put one of her sons in prison on fabricated charges if she continued to complain about the death of Kulmuradov Musurmon in custody. A medical report based on the photographs was reportedly drawn up by a professor of forensic medicine and science at the University of Glasgow. According to this report, “[t]he pattern of the injuries is typical of systematic and violent beating over a period of time, possibly over a few days”. It adds that