Kazakh prisoners will cease to be forced to sing a hymn

In Kazakhstan’s correctional institutions, as well as in pre-trial detention facilities, for the last three years, 53 facts of torture of prisoners and detainees have been recorded. This was announced at a briefing in Nur-Sultan by Zhanna Nazarova, Deputy Director of the Central Prison Reform Office PRI in Central Asia.

 “Over the last three years, 53 facts of torture have been recorded: 13 – in the penitentiary system, 33 – in the internal affairs bodies, as well as 7 other facts; 6 of them are the use of the administration’s voluntary assistants. It means that the convicts themselves are used against other convicts!” Nazarova said.

It should be noted that the briefing was devoted primarily to the incident in the colony LA-155/8, located in the village of Zarechny in Almaty region.

Recall that on July 26, a video was posted on Youtube (https://acca.media/v-kazahstane-ocherednoj-skandal-svyazannyj-s-pytkami/), which shows humbling prisoners by the prison staff. The video showed how two officers threw the convict to the floor and tied his wrists behind his back. The following shots show how three colony officers beat a prisoner hanging on gym wall-bars.

A few days later, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan, Erlan Turgumbaev, confirmed the fact of torture in LA-155/8 colony and called this incident “one of the shameful facts of the Kazakh penal system”.

He also said that according to the results of the inspection in the colony, seven employees of this institution, including two deputy chiefs, were dismissed for negative reasons. The Head of the colony was also fired.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Kazakh Committee of the Criminal Executive System, Darkhan Kanatbekov, said at the briefing that the incident in LA-155/8 is a single case.

“Indeed, there are some flaws,” admitted Kanatbekov. “In 2018, criminal proceedings were instituted for torture, but not a single case went to trial. Therefore, this case is a single one. Really outrageous fact!”

It is noteworthy that according to Kanatbekov, from the beginning of 2019, 1500 employees of the penitentiary system suffered various punishments: rebukes, reprimands, incomplete official compliance. But, at the same time, he emphasized, none of them suffered criminal liability.

Kanatbekov also assured that the Committee of the Criminal Executive System is taking all measures to eradicate the inappropriate attitude of prison officials to prisoners. In particular, according to him, since 2015, employees of prisons are equipped with special video tokens. Currently 1363 employees are equipped with video badges. Until the end of this year, another 635 video badges will be purchased.

“This is for employee discipline. We will observe how they work. And also it’s to prevent unlawful actions on the side of convicts,” Kanatbekov said.

At the same time, he explained that the Committee of the Criminal Executive System does not have access to the records from video badges. The information is automatically sent first to the Head of institutions, and only after that the Committee of the Criminal Executive System gets the opportunity to familiarize themselves with it.

In addition, Kanatbekov said that in Kazakhstan they plan to ban prison staff from monitoring prisoners’ appeals to the Ombudsman.

He also boasted that the Committee of the Criminal Executive System had revised the nutritional standards of Kazakh prisoners. So, according to him, earlier the daily ration of convicts consisted of 15 items of food, and today – of 26. In addition, the prisoners were increased “living space” to 3.5 square meters per person, and in women’s and juvenile colonies – up to 4.5 square meters.

Moreover, the prisoners in Kazakhstan have the opportunity to communicate with relatives online.

In turn, the Deputy Director of the Representative office of the International Prison Reform PRI in Central Asia, Zhanna Nazarova, said that in the near future, Kazakh prisoners will be changed for a light one. The point is not in the taste preferences of the convicts, but in the southern regions of the country it is too hot to wear a dark uniform.

Another good news was that from now on, prisoners will not be forced to march on the parade ground and sing the hymn of Kazakhstan. According to Nazarova, these requirements are now under the absolute ban.