Another torture scandal in Kazakhstan
The Minister of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan, Erlan Turgumbayev, confirmed the fact of torture of prisoners in the LA-155/8 strict regime prison located in the village of Zarechny in Almaty region. According to him, seven employees of this institution, including two Deputy Heads, were dismissed for negative reasons. The Head of the prison is also dismissed.
The scandal around the prison in Zarechny broke out on July 26. That day, a video was posted on the Youtube portal (https://youtu.be/-N_9KSdMjEc), which depicted the bullying of prison staff over prisoners. The video shows how two employees threw the convict on the floor and tied his wrists behind his back. In subsequent shots, it is shown how three officers of the colony beat up a prisoner hanging on the wall in the gym.
– “Won’t you write for sure?” asks one of the staff of LA-155/8, striking him. Evidently, it is a question of whether the convicted person will complain of torture.
– “I won’t,” the victim assures and gets a few more punches.
As reported by the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the same day, the record shows the illegal actions of the colony employees regarding the prisoners.
“At present, 40 videos and audio recordings that have been made within this institution have been studied. According to them, it is clear that two used torture against convicts, the rest – abuse, excess of powers, as well as violation of the custodial regime by employees of this institution. This incident is one of the shameful facts of our penitentiary system,” Erlan Turgumbayev told reporters after a government meeting.
The Head of the department also added that the prosecutor’s office of Almaty region is now investigating this fact.
“Within the next two days, I think the court will choose a measure of restraint. The Head of this institution has been relieved of his post. On July 29, as a result of operational activities, 5 employees of this colony were detained, 2 criminal cases were initiated. One of them was initiated by the department’s own security, the other by the special prosecutor,” explained Turgumbayev.
The establishment of LA-155/8 was built in 1982. This is a male colony, in which punitive and repeat offenders are serving, and those who committed the crime for the first time. The main category of prisoners in this colony are convicted of murder, or for possession and distribution of drugs. In addition to citizens of Kazakhstan, foreigners are also kept in the colony.
LA-155/8, like other penitentiary institutions in Almaty region, regularly gets into the news. Moreover, the first criminal case of torture in the history of independent Kazakhstan just left the walls of this colony. In March 2010, the 27-year-old Zhandos Sagatov was severely beaten in this institution. Human rights activists fixed on his body bloody marks from the handcuffs, a swollen and bluish right heel from blows, a solid bruise on his back, urination with blood and bleeding, a strong tumor in the groin. He was also pushed into the anus with a baton, breaking the rectum and bladder.
In 2011, nine people were convicted to long terms in this case: two Deputy Heads, three prison officers, and four activists from the Council of Law and Order.
Meanwhile, as reported by the press service of the Anti-Corruption Agency of Kazakhstan, recently, in Taraz, two policemen were convicted – Captain Beysekeev S., Head of the operational search department of the criminal police in Taraz, and Lieutenant Kudaibergenov A., the officer of the same department, for using torture in relation to a witness in a criminal case. By the court decision, Beysekeev and Kudaibergenov got three years in prison.
