In Kyrgyzstan, Interior Ministry officials are accused of torture

At the end of January 2020, the media reported on the detention of five men by police officers with the participation of fighters of a special quick reaction detachment.

According to the testimony of one of the detainees, he was beaten on the head, kicked, then kept for 40 minutes on the pavement facing the ground.

“During the detention and interrogation, the man was severely beaten. On the fact of torture, an application was filed with the prosecutor and registered in the unified registry. During interrogation by an investigator of the Prosecutor’s office, the detainee told in detail what office he was taken to, what kind of furniture was there, how and where he was beaten,” the human rights organization “One World” said.

According to the detainee, he was beaten in order to obtain a confession. Unable to bear the torture, the man took the blame upon himself.

“At the request of the lawyers, forensic medical examinations were scheduled, which revealed that three detainees had the signs of bodily harm. Pretrial proceedings have been instituted on the fact of torture,” human rights activists specify.

“One World” noted that the detention took place with multiple violations.

“In relation to the employees of the Department of Internal Affairs, who are suspected of cruel treatment and torture, a pre-trial investigation of torture is being carried out by the investigation department of the State Committee for National Security in Osh oblast. This may affect the objectivity of the investigation. In this connection, the lawyers of the detainees appealed to the Prosecutor’s office with a request to transfer the case to another body,” the human rights organization concluded.