A man convicted of terrorism who died   in a prison in the capital Tashkent last week might have been tortured to  death, a human rights group said Monday.

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan   Tohir Jabbarov, 29, who was serving a 16-year jail term and who alleged  during his trial that he had been tortured in custody, died in Sangorod  prison on Sept. 7, said Ravshan Kholmatov, an activist from the Independent  Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan.

   Authorities said Jabbarov died of cirrhosis, pneumonia and heart problems,  but his father, Akhmadjon Jabbarov, claimed his son had been tortured to  death, said Kholmatov.

   Uzbekistan has long drawn criticism for human rights abuses. A U.N. envoy  who visited the former Soviet republic in 2002 found that torture was  <systematic> in Uzbek jails.

   Jabbarov was arrested on Apr. 14 in the eastern Namangan province and  convicted in August of terrorism and anti-constitutional activity for his  alleged involvement in attacks earlier this year in Tashkent and central  Bukhara region that claimed 47 lives.

   Authorities said the attacks _ which included assaults on police and  explosions _ was the work of Islamic radicals linked to al-Qaida.

   Jabbarov pleaded not guilty at his trial and alleged that he was tortured  while in custody, Kholamatov said.

   Last week, New York-based Human Rights Watch accused Uzbek authorities of  rounding up dissident Muslims and subjecting then to incommunicado  detention, torture and unfair trials as they search for those behind the  recent violence.

   Two deaths in police custody were reported in May. Four more cases have  been documented by Human Rights Watch since May 2003.

   Most deaths in Uzbek jails are not investigated.