HAZING IN TAJIKISTAN: RADICAL REFORMS NEEDED
Human rights defenders in Tajikistan say the Tajik army needs radical reforms or the mistreatment and deaths of soldiers will continue.
On the night of January 17, 2022, a quarrel over the military jacket (the soldiers' outerwear) broke out between the soldiers of the military unit "0507".
Mirali Boqiyev, a resident of the village of Philmandar, in the Penjikent district in northern Tajikistan, was called up in the army in May 2021. According to the assignment, 19-year-old Mirali was sent to serve at one of the border checkpoints in the Farkhor district. Mirali Bakiyev did his military service in the region bordering Afghanistan.
Fayzali Bokiyev, Mirali Boqiyev's brother, says that on the night of the incident, junior sergeant Siddiq Sadulloyev demanded that his deceased brother give him his military jacket. When Mirali refused, Sergeant Sadulloyev beat her brother.
Fayzali Bokiyev, Mirali Boqiyev's brother, says that on the night of the incident, junior sergeant Siddiq Sadulloyev demanded that his deceased brother give him his military jacket. When Mirali refused, Sergeant Sadulloyev beat her brother.
Mirali Boqiyev
The authorities also confirm that Mirali Boqiyev was beaten up. The military prosecutor of the Kulob district, Firuz Rajabzoda, stated in this regard that Sergeant Sadulloyev struck Boqiyev twice. According to the prosecutor, one of these blows hit the heart area, as a result of which Mirali Bokiev died.
Sergeant Siddik Sadulloev was arrested and charged with "abuse of power" and "exceeding authority". Last April, the military court of the Khatlon region sentenced Sadulloyev to 13 years of strict regime. The relatives of the deceased soldier say that they have no complaints about the verdict against the sergeant, but are dissatisfied with the inaction of the two commanders of the military unit. According to the soldier's relatives, their dissatisfaction consists in the fact that the two commanders failed to prevent the sergeant from beating their son.
Sergeant Siddik Sadulloev was arrested and charged with "abuse of power" and "exceeding authority". Last April, the military court of the Khatlon region sentenced Sadulloyev to 13 years of strict regime. The relatives of the deceased soldier say that they have no complaints about the verdict against the sergeant, but are dissatisfied with the inaction of the two commanders of the military unit. According to the soldier's relatives, their dissatisfaction consists in the fact that the two commanders failed to prevent the sergeant from beating their son.
Mirali Boqiyev is not the only soldier to have died in the Tajik army.
According to the Tajik government's report to the UN, more than 100 soldiers died in the Tajik army in a total of three years, from 2019 to 2021. These soldiers died not in times of war, but peace, which concerns human rights defenders.
The government's report to the UN and interviews with human rights defenders indicate that one of the main causes of soldier deaths in the Tajik army is hazing or "upbringing" of new recruits by older soldiers. In the Tajik army, conscript soldiers are divided into several categories depending on their length of service: "young" or "dukhi", those just drafted; the so-called "scherpaks" (those who have served 6 months), "one-year-olds" ("yaksola" in Tajik - served for a year), "dembel" (those who have the last 6 months left to serve). In cases where a soldier serves for 1 year (after university), after 6 months of service he immediately becomes a "dembel".
In a government report to the UN, we can read that soldiers who have served for more than a year, in order to "show their strength" and to create more favorable conditions for themselves, allow the abuse of new soldiers.
The government's report to the UN and interviews with human rights defenders indicate that one of the main causes of soldier deaths in the Tajik army is hazing or "upbringing" of new recruits by older soldiers. In the Tajik army, conscript soldiers are divided into several categories depending on their length of service: "young" or "dukhi", those just drafted; the so-called "scherpaks" (those who have served 6 months), "one-year-olds" ("yaksola" in Tajik - served for a year), "dembel" (those who have the last 6 months left to serve). In cases where a soldier serves for 1 year (after university), after 6 months of service he immediately becomes a "dembel".
In a government report to the UN, we can read that soldiers who have served for more than a year, in order to "show their strength" and to create more favorable conditions for themselves, allow the abuse of new soldiers.
Uguloy Boboeva is a lawyer who has been defending the rights of conscript soldiers and servicemen for seven years. She says that the Tajik army inherited hazing from the Soviet army.
Twice a year, in spring and autumn, young men are being drafted into the army. Uguloy Boboeva says that hazing starts as soon as new soldiers enter the military unit.
Twice a year, in spring and autumn, young men are being drafted into the army. Uguloy Boboeva says that hazing starts as soon as new soldiers enter the military unit.
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«Soldiers who have already served for some time want the performance of service and domestic duties to be transferred to new recruits. In most cases, old soldiers give assignments to new recruits who, due to a lack of subordination, refuse to comply with them. As punishment for refusing to comply with the whims of the old soldiers, they beat up the new recruits.»
Uguloy Boboeva
Human rights defender
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According to the authorities and human rights defenders, in recent years a lot of efforts have been made to eradicate hazing in the Tajik army. In particular, representatives of the military prosecutor's office fully inspect soldiers every week, and in some military units every day.
Some of our interviewees who have served in the army say that if the military prosecutor's office finds a black stain on a soldier's body, they will question him to find out exactly where it came from. Complaint boxes have also been installed in military units. Soldiers can also talk to their families weekly on the commander's phone. Soldiers in the Tajik army are not allowed to have their own phones.
However, according to CABAR.asia's sources, not only commanders have telephones, but also older soldiers, who sometimes allow new recruits to call home for a fee.
Human rights defender Uguloy Boboeva said that although there are fewer complaints about hazing in the army since the measures were introduced, it has not disappeared completely.
Some of our interviewees who have served in the army say that if the military prosecutor's office finds a black stain on a soldier's body, they will question him to find out exactly where it came from. Complaint boxes have also been installed in military units. Soldiers can also talk to their families weekly on the commander's phone. Soldiers in the Tajik army are not allowed to have their own phones.
However, according to CABAR.asia's sources, not only commanders have telephones, but also older soldiers, who sometimes allow new recruits to call home for a fee.
Human rights defender Uguloy Boboeva said that although there are fewer complaints about hazing in the army since the measures were introduced, it has not disappeared completely.
Azam Rizoyev, a resident of Sughd region, completed his military service two years ago. He said one of the main reasons for the existence of hazing in the Tajik army is that soldiers refrain from complaining.
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There is an unwritten rule in the army. If your fellow soldiers mistreat you and you complain about them, they call you an "snitch". "Snitch" is the roughest word the soldiers use, and this "name" is always used as an insult. Sometimes you are assigned the dirtiest and most humiliating jobs, including cleaning the toilet. That is why soldiers endure all the suffering, but do not complain to commanders or military prosecutors for fear of being the "snitch."
Officials: Massive efforts made to eradicate abuse in Tajik army
A Tajik government report to the UN in late November said the army's hotline numbers have been distributed to all military units. However, the latter initiative was received negatively by the older conscripts.
« There was a case when a fellow soldier was beaten up just because he wrote down the telephone number of the military prosecutor's office hotline and put a paper with these numbers under his hat. This was noticed by the "grandfathers" and they beat him up for "preventive purposes" so that he would not be an "asshole" (complaint) against them,» - a former conscript soldier, who wished to remain anonymous, told CABAR.asia
Authorities also report that 639 officials and commanders have been either reprimanded or criminally prosecuted for concealing crimes in military units over the past three years. However, despite these efforts, there are still media reports of soldiers dying in the army.
Information about the size of the Tajik army is confidential by law. According to other data, every year during the two conscription seasons 15-16 thousand young men from 18 to 27 years old are drafted into the Tajik army. According to the statistics of the population of the Republic of Tajikistan on January 1, 2021, there were 1,285,500 men of conscription age (from 18 to 29 years).
Referring to the secrecy of information, the authorities do not say whether the number of draftees has increased or decreased in recent years. However, over the past two years, the military conscription plan has struggled to keep pace. Referring to this, some human rights defenders suggested that the number of draftees might have increased. Experts link this to the situation in Afghanistan and conflicts on the border with Kyrgyzstan.
Information about the size of the Tajik army is confidential by law. According to other data, every year during the two conscription seasons 15-16 thousand young men from 18 to 27 years old are drafted into the Tajik army. According to the statistics of the population of the Republic of Tajikistan on January 1, 2021, there were 1,285,500 men of conscription age (from 18 to 29 years).
Referring to the secrecy of information, the authorities do not say whether the number of draftees has increased or decreased in recent years. However, over the past two years, the military conscription plan has struggled to keep pace. Referring to this, some human rights defenders suggested that the number of draftees might have increased. Experts link this to the situation in Afghanistan and conflicts on the border with Kyrgyzstan.
Tajik Army was formed on February 23, 1993, during the country's civil war. The army was founded on the creation date of the Soviet Army. Some human rights activists say that the "creation date" is not the only legacy of the USSR in the Tajik army.
Lawyer Uguloy Boboeva says that the institutions of the military court, military prosecution and military prisons (guardhouse) remained from Soviet times and still function today.
According to the human rights defender, several basic reforms need to be undertaken to improve the situation in the army:
Lawyer Uguloy Boboeva says that the institutions of the military court, military prosecution and military prisons (guardhouse) remained from Soviet times and still function today.
According to the human rights defender, several basic reforms need to be undertaken to improve the situation in the army:
1
Introduce a mechanism to protect the rights of military personnel. Crimes should not be covered by the leadership of military units.
2
Improve communication between the public and service members. There should be a fully equipped and accessible box for complaints, a landline phone, and a post office. According to the results of a survey of servicemen, when asked where one could complain, they were more likely to call the commander of the military unit. Maybe they were not even aware of the existence of the Military Prosecutor's Office.
3
Conditions of service should improve. For example, the results of the monitoring showed that servicemen in military units do not eat nutritious food. According to the norm, they should consume one egg a day, but soldiers responded that they consume one or two eggs a week.
4
Increase the legal literacy and knowledge of officers and soldiers. Legal classes should be held more often, explaining the legal consequences of [non]statutory relations. During the monitoring, soldiers talked more about their duties in individual conversations and listed only 1-2 of their rights.
5
To establish the experience of mobile courts in order to consider cases against those accused of committing crimes in the military sphere and torture on the territory of military units. Punishment is given not only for the purpose of correcting the offender but also for the purpose of correcting society.
