The General Prosecutor’s Office of Kazakhstan was unable to establish during the investigation the circle of persons involved in the torture of the Kyrgyz jazzman Vikram Ruzakhunov. In order to still identify the perpetrators, the supervisory authority invited the musician to Kazakhstan, promising to provide him with protection.
Recall, as ACCA has already reported, Vikram Ruzakhunov was detained in Almaty during the January riots. He was even shown on Kazakh state TV channels, presented 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 beat these confessions out of him with the help of torture. The musician had broken ribs and was diagnosed with a concussion.
On February 10, 2022, the Department of the Anti-Corruption Service for the Almaty region launched a pre-trial investigation under the article “torture committed by a group of persons” against unidentified law enforcement officers of the region on the fact of torture against Vikram Ruzakhunov. On February 19, he was officially recognized as a victim.
In March, Human Rights Ombudsman in Kazakhstan Elvira Azimova held an online meeting with human rights activists from Kyrgyzstan, where they discussed the protection of the rights of Kyrgyz citizens detained during the January riots in Kazakhstan, including Vikram Ruzakhunov. 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.
Representatives of the Ombudsman of Kyrgyzstan stated that they were ready to accompany Vikram Ruzakhunov to Kazakhstan for his participation in investigative activities.
In June, according to the jazzman, he intended to leave for Almaty together with lawyers and representatives of state departments of Kyrgyzstan for investigative measures.
“However, the investigator of the Anti-Corruption Service of Kazakhstan at that time was not yet familiar with the interrogation dated May 01, 2022 at the request of the same Anti-Corruption Service. He also said that he would not be able to organize the identification of persons involved in torture.
The trip did not take place, although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan has already sent a note to the Embassy of Kazakhstan,” Ruzahunov said on social networks.
Meanwhile, in Kyrgyzstan itself, a criminal case was opened on the fact of torture against Ruzakhunov by law enforcement officers of Kazakhstan.
On July 11, Ruzahunov posted on his Facebook page that the Leninsky District Department of Internal Affairs in Bishkek had completed an investigation.
“According to the results of the examinations, the experts established the infliction of grievous harm to my health. The materials collected through the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kyrgyzstan will be sent to the competent authorities of Kazakhstan to identify and bring the perpetrators to justice,” Ruzakhunov wrote.
However, it is not yet possible to identify those involved in the torture of the musician. As explained in the General Prosecutor’s Office of Kazakhstan, there are no video recordings in Ruzakhunov’s case, registration logs of visitors and delivered persons, all the employees involved were wearing masks, including medical ones.
“Currently, negotiations are underway on the arrival of Ruzakhunov in Kazakhstan with the provision of security measures. Photographs of all employees involved in the above events with Ruzahunov have been requested from the Almaty Region Police Department,” the department noted.
