Dozens Killed For Body Parts
By Mark Franchetti, Moscow
Originally published in The Sunday Times, July 29, 2001
The last time Makhbuba Aripova, a young woman from the central Asian republic of Uzbekistan, saw her husband Farkhod he was about to set off for a new life in Canada. Makhbuba, five months pregnant, was due to join him when their first child was born.
Days later his remains were found in plastic bags dumped in their home town of Bukhara, 2,500 miles southeast of Moscow. Nearby lay the mutilated bodies of his sister and brother-in-law and their three children, who were to emigrate with him.
Investigators believe they are among dozens of victims of a ruthless gang of traders in human organs who lure people to their deaths with promises of jobs abroad.
Last week in Bukhara Alima Korayev, her husband Ferudtin and their son Dzheykhum went on trial for murder with two alleged accomplices, one of them a doctor.
When police raided the Korayevs' house last December they reportedly found bags containing human body parts from which organs had been removed. There were also 60 passports belonging to people who had vanished, together with £6,000—a huge sum in a country where the average monthly salary is £10. Police say this may have been the proceeds of organ sales.
"I will never recover," said Aripova, 21, who miscarried after her husband's body was found. "Farkhod wanted me to leave with him, but I was afraid because of my pregnancy so I postponed my departure.
"I kissed him goodbye and thought I would see him again in Canada. He was cut into pieces. He was 23. How could anyone do this?"
The victims had arranged their trip through Kora, a company set up last year by the Korayevs. For a small fee they promised jobs in Canada and Australia, plus visas and work permits. Dozens came forward in a country plagued by poverty and unemployment.
Investigators believe that, with the doctor's help, the Korayevs killed their clients before removing kidneys and other organs which were smuggled to Russia. Their final destination is not known, but some suspect it was Turkey.
After the gang was held last December a senior customs officer at Bukhara's international airport committed suicide. Police think he may have helped to smuggle body parts.
The Korayevs admit the killings, saying the victims owed them money, but deny trading in organs. The authorities in Uzbekistan, a Soviet-style police state, have imposed a news blackout on the case for fear it will damage the country's image. The trial is closed, except to victims' relatives. Many have fainted at the evidence; others have had to be restrained by police.
"The Korayevs' house looked like a butcher's shop," said one investigator.
"The victims were usually held for a few days in a flat. They were told they had to pass medical tests and receive jabs. Farkhod and his relatives were held captive and fed on little more than lemon juice to cleanse their systems before they were killed."
