DUSHANBE, September 29, 2012, Asia-Plus -- The Prosecutor-General’s Office has promised to thoroughly investigate the death of Hamza Ikromzoda, who died in a penal colony.

“We will launch a thorough investigation into the death of Hamza Ikromzoda and those guilty will be brought to justice,” Rahmatullo Kholov, a prosecutor form the Directorate for Overseeing Correctional Facilities, Prosecutor-General’s Office said on September 29 during a meeting with the relatives of Hamza Ikromzoda.

Ikromzoda’s relatives lodged an official application to the Prosecutor-General Sherkhon Salimzoda on Saturday.

On September 28, the relatives of Hamza Ikromzoda gathered outside the building of the Department for Correctional Works at the Ministry of Justice demanding that authorities thoroughly investigate Hamza’s death.

Izzatullo Sharifov, the chief of the Department for Correctional Works at the Ministry of Justice, met with Hamza’s relatives the same day and assured that he will sack the head of penal colony YaS No 3/1 Rustam Toshtemirov irrespective of the results of the forensic medical examination.

We will recall that inmate of penal colony YaS No 3/1 – 27-year-old Hamza Ikromzoda – died in Dushanbe’s penal colony YaS No 3/1 on September 20.  Ikromzoda’s body was handed over to his relatives on September 21.

The relatives claim that his was tortured.  According to them, the body carried traces of torture, including burns caused by a heated iron.

Hamza Ikromzoda was sentenced to eleven years in prison for theft in 2011.  The sentence followed his conviction on charges robbery, extortion, and illegally bearing, possessing, and acquiring weapons.  Later, his jail term was reduced by thee years under amnesty law.

The Department of Correctional Works is responsible for managing the prison system in Tajikistan and has been part of the Ministry of Justice since 2002.  Its 19 penitentiary institutions include 13 correctional colonies (including one colony for women and one colony for juveniles), one prison and five pre-trial detention centers.  There are also five regional units responsible for the execution of non-custodial sanctions.