TASHKENT -- An Uzbek woman who was reportedly gang-raped along with her two sisters in a Tashkent jail has given birth, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports.
Abdusamat Soatov, the brother of Raykhon Soatova, told RFE/RL that his sister and the baby are currently in the prison hospital.
Soatov said he is not allowed to see her in prison. He added that doctors told him the baby is about two months premature but that the child survived.
Soatov said he is going to demand a DNA test be taken and will seek punishment for the person found to be the father.
Soatova, 28, and her sisters Khosiyat and Nargiza were arrested on May 9 during a physical altercation with the alleged mistress of Nargiza's husband.
Soatov told RFE/RL earlier that during his visit to prison on November 26 Raykhon told him that she and Khosiyat -- who was later released on bail -- were raped and abused during their arrest.
Raykhon told her brother that in addition to the police involved in the assaults, she knows the name of an investigator who raped her.
Svetlana Ortiqova, a spokeswoman for the Prosecutor-General's Office, told RFE/RL that the case has not yet been investigated because of the large number of complaints the office has to deal with.
Soatov told RFE/RL he has sent nearly 30 complaints to President Islam Karimov's administration and written letters to the Prosecutor-General's Office, the Justice Ministry, and to regional prosecutors, but hasn't received a reply to his demands that his sisters' case be investigated.
Abdusamat Soatov, the brother of Raykhon Soatova, told RFE/RL that his sister and the baby are currently in the prison hospital.
Soatov said he is not allowed to see her in prison. He added that doctors told him the baby is about two months premature but that the child survived.
Soatov said he is going to demand a DNA test be taken and will seek punishment for the person found to be the father.
Soatova, 28, and her sisters Khosiyat and Nargiza were arrested on May 9 during a physical altercation with the alleged mistress of Nargiza's husband.
Soatov told RFE/RL earlier that during his visit to prison on November 26 Raykhon told him that she and Khosiyat -- who was later released on bail -- were raped and abused during their arrest.
Raykhon told her brother that in addition to the police involved in the assaults, she knows the name of an investigator who raped her.
Svetlana Ortiqova, a spokeswoman for the Prosecutor-General's Office, told RFE/RL that the case has not yet been investigated because of the large number of complaints the office has to deal with.
Soatov told RFE/RL he has sent nearly 30 complaints to President Islam Karimov's administration and written letters to the Prosecutor-General's Office, the Justice Ministry, and to regional prosecutors, but hasn't received a reply to his demands that his sisters' case be investigated.
