In Kyrgyzstan, UN Human Rights Committee took torture victim’s side
11 years after the incident, the UN Human Rights Committee recognized the fact of torture against a resident of Suzak region, Zhanyshbek Halmamatov. This was reported on the website of Jalal-Abad’s human rights organization “Justice”.
In May 2009, Zhanyshbek Halmamatov was detained on suspicion of fatal running-down accident. They obtained confession, which formed the basis of the prosecution, from the man by torture. In March 2011, the District court of Suzak sentenced him to 9 years in prison.
The relatives of Halmamatov turned to the “Justice” for help. Because of the efforts of human rights defenders, the Regional Prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case against four officers of the police department of Suzak, who were suspected of torture.
In addition to torture, police officers were charged with intentionally causing less serious bodily harm, abuse of power and unlawful detention. However, police officers were not even suspended from work.
In December 2011, the Supreme Court put an end to this case: it issued the verdict that the police were innocent. Prior to that, police officers were acquitted in the District and the Regional courts.
“There was evidence, and examination, and the initiation of a case under a rare article, and the prosecution support. However, all this was broken down in the court, where everyone was surprisingly unanimous,” said Valentina Gritsenko, director of the human rights organization “Justice”.
In September 2012, human rights defenders filed an individual complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee. The Committee registered the complaint at the end of April 2014.
On March 13, 2020, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled on the case. The international body acknowledged that Zhanyshbek Halmamatov’s right to freedom from torture was violated and that the state authorities ineffectively investigated the torture complaint, as well as the confession, which formed the basis of the fatal running-down accident’s charges, was obtained under torture.
