Children's Ombudsperson Surayo Rakhmonova has taken up the case of a schoolgirl's death in Almalyk, Tashkent province, the press service of the Children's Ombudsperson said.
On January 28, 17-year-old student K. Y. died at school No. 5 "due to deterioration of health."
The provinceal representative of the Children's Ombudsperson's Office has launched a probe into the case for violations of children's rights; information on the findings will be provided after the investigation is complete.
While, the prosecutor's office is conducting a preliminary investigation of its own, with a forensic medical examination ordered.
The prosecutor's office has filed a request for an internal investigation to the Tashkent Province Department of Preschool and School Education, as well as the Tashkent province police department.
Earlier, the Nemolchi.uz anti-violence project reported that the girl had suffered a blood clot after a meeting held at the school by law enforcement officers.
According to a parent whose child attended the meeting, it was called by a representative of the school's parent committee, who was trying to protect another student from rumors being spread about her.
"He summoned police officers under false pretenses and began lecturing the girls in a harsh, raised voice. Then, the girls 'suspected' of spreading the rumors were called into a separate room for a conversation. The room was mostly attended by men. The deceased girl experienced severe stress when she was called in for a conversation," the project quotes the parent's letter.
The girl complained of illness in the morning, and her condition worsened after a "conversation with police officers" about preventing pregnancy. The high school student lost consciousness while descending the stairs and died.
Rumors are circulating around the school that one of the ninth-graders is pregnant. "That's why these kinds of conversations are often held at the school.
The version of the police department
The spokesman to the Tashkent province police department, Bobur Tulyaganov, stated that the girl's death had not been caused by attending a counseling meeting, but rather due to disagreements that arose between 9th, 10th, and 11th-grade students at School No. 5 in Almalyk due to rumors being spread about each other.
In light of this, the school administration, with the participation of representatives of the Women's Affairs Committee and police inspectors/psychologists assigned to the school, scheduled a counseling meeting for students, he underscored.
"The 10th-grade student, who later died, felt ill while heading to the meeting with other students in the first floor hallway, fell, and died. Please note: the incident occurred before the scheduled meeting began, meaning the student did not have time to attend," stated Bobur Tulyaganov.
Police and National Guard are frequently involved in school affairs Uzbekistan, be it raising school attendance or the so-called preventive measures.
