The Prosecutor General’s Office keeps under special control the issue of observance of the rights of detainees during the January mass riots. Serik Shalabaev, Head of the Criminal Prosecution Service of the Prosecutor General’s Office, stated this at an extended meeting of the Department’s Collegium.
According to him, following the results of the January tragedy, investigative-operational groups are investigating 3,502 criminal cases on acts of terrorism, murders, theft of weapons and riots. On suspicion of committing them, 737 persons are kept in pre-trial detention centers. At the same time, within the framework of the same investigations, 307 detainees had their preventive measure changed to house arrest or a written undertaking not to leave the country. Among them, there are 27 minors. Now, the Prosecutor General’s Office is considering applications to change the measure of restraint in cases of 22 more detainees.
As for the use of torture, which was denied by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan, but which was confirmed during the investigation of the General Prosecutor’s Office, according to Shalabaev, 203 criminal cases of torture and abuse of power have been opened to date. The most resonant of them, such as, for example, the death of six detainees, are being investigated, as ACCA has already reported, by special prosecutors.
“In the course of pre-trial proceedings, 9 employees were identified and detained, suspected of using unlawful methods of investigation against the detainees,” Shalabaev said.
At the same time, he didn’t explain why the number of detainees is much less than the number of criminal cases initiated on the facts of torture and abuse of power.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Human Rights in Kazakhstan, Elvira Azimova, held an online meeting with human rights activists from Kyrgyzstan. They have discussed the issues of protecting the rights of Kyrgyz citizens who were detained during the January riots in Kazakhstan.
First of all, it was about the musician, jazzman Vikram Ruzakhunov. As ACCA has already reported, Vikram Ruzakhunov was shown on the state TV channels of Kazakhstan, presenting him as a “terrorist” who took part in the riots for money. However, after the intervention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, Ruzakhunov was returned to his homeland and from there he recorded a video message in which he stated that the Kazakh police forced these confessions out of him using torture.
In addition to Ruzakhunov, Kyrgyz human rights activists also recalled the Ombudsman of Kazakhstan some other their citizens which were detained during the January events – Cholpon Sydykov, whom Kazakh policemen broke both legs and ten ribs and whom Kyrgyz activists were collecting money for the operation, as well as Talgat Temirkan uulu, who since January 28 is in the pre-trial detention center of the city of Taraz.
During the negotiations, the parties came to a decision on the advisability of conducting an independent examination in accordance with the recommendations of the Istanbul Protocol.
In particular, representatives of the Ombudsman of Kyrgyzstan stated that they were ready to accompany Vikram Ruzakhunov to Kazakhstan for participating in the investigation. Cholpon Sadykov, due to the fact that he cannot move, will be interrogated online. As for Talgat Temirkan uulu, the Ombudsman of Kazakhstan Elvira Azimova expressed her readiness to assist his mother and lawyer in a meeting with the administration of the Prosecutor’s Office of Zhambyl region, which oversees compliance with the rule of law in a criminal investigation.
“At the end of the online meeting, the participants reaffirmed their commitment to complying with obligations in the field of human and civil rights and freedoms, and also agreed on the need to maximize the potential of the legal framework with the participation of two states, primarily the UN conventions, as well as the Minsk and Chisinau conventions on providing legal assistance in criminal and civil cases,” the Ombudsman’s Office of Kazakhstan noted in its statement.
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