Kyrgyzstan: The Supreme Court refused to hear the torture case
This summer, evidential materials from a torture case against a man who was tortured by six officers from State Committee for National Security were sent to the Supreme Court. The main demand of the lawyers of the victim is the abolition of the ruling of the Osh Regional Court of August 20, 2019, on the refusal to initiate a criminal case.
The refusal of the regional court was for formal reasons, the ruling indicated that the court of the first instance did not timely send a notice of the day of the hearing to the military prosecutor’s office of the Osh military post, so the prosecutor did not participate. Lawyers replied that on August 20, the prosecutor took part in the regional court, respectively, there was no violation.
It also stated that the victim had missed the appeal deadline. The lawyers explained that the man did not receive a copy of the order refusing to initiate a criminal case. In May, the military prosecutor’s office decided not to launch a criminal torture case, which lawyers challenged in court.
For several years, there were procedural difficulties in torture cases for lawyers – according to part 3 of article 430 of the Criminal Procedure Code, it was impossible to appeal to the Supreme Court the decisions and rulings of the courts of first and second instance based on the complaints of the investigating judge. In cases of torture and abusive treatment, such restrictions on advocacy entailed violations of the constitutional rights of citizens, including the right to personal integrity and the right to access to justice.
Therefore, the lawyers of “United World (Bir Duino)” filed an application to the Constitutional Chamber with the aim of abolishing this norm. It was a months-long process, in February 2021 the Constitutional Chamber agreed with the arguments of the lawyers and recognized that part 3 of Article 430 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Kyrgyz Republic contradicted paragraph 1 of parts 2, 3, 4, paragraph 1, 8 of part 5, article 20 and article 40 of the Kyrgyz Republic Constitution. This norm was found to be contrary to the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Based on the decision of the Constitutional Chamber, several documents were appealed, including the case of torture against a client of human rights defenders. But in August 2021, the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan returned the case file without any consideration. Substantiation of refusal: “Since, in accordance with part 3 of Article 430 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, the valid court decisions of the first instance that have not been appealed according to the procedure, as well as the decisions of the appellate court issued on complaints against the decisions of the investigating judge, are not subject to cassation review.”
Thus, according to human rights activists, the Supreme Court ignored the decision of the Constitutional Chamber to abolish this norm. It continues to carry out its activities, infringing upon the constitutional rights of citizens of Kyrgyzstan. The lawyers of the human rights organization recalled: the Constitution states that the court is not entitled to apply an act that contradicts the very Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Let us remind you that six years ago, in December 2013, a man whose interests in the courts are defended by human rights defenders was taken to the State Committee for National Security. There six people tortured him: they beat him on the stomach with their fists and gave him an electric current. Then he was released but in January he was summoned and detained. He was again subjected to torture with electric shocks, he was also stripped, taken outside, and buried in the snow.
