Official Autopsy Results Say Tajik Inmate Committed Suicide, Relatives Protest

Hamza Ikromzoda was found dead in a Tajik prison with suspicious marks on his body.

DUSHANBE -- Relatives of a Tajik prison inmate who died in mid-September are questioning the official autopsy results.

Hamza Ikromzoda's family members say his body carried traces of torture, including burns caused by a hot iron.

They told RFE/RL on October 24 that they officially requested an additional autopsy from the prosecutor-general.

Lawyers for the family say they were told by the prosecutor-general's office on October 23 that the autopsy proved that Ikromzoda had hanged himself.

The lawyers say they were asked to sign papers prohibiting them from making the autopsy results public.

Earlier this month Tajik human rights organizations urged the government to thoroughly investigate Ikromzoda's death, listing six other suspicious deaths in custody.

-- RFE/RL's Tajik Service