Three more prisoners in Kazakhstan sewn up their mouths

The Prosecutor’s office of Mangistau region checks the activity of the strict-security colony ГM-172/6, located in Aktau. The reason for the verification was the fact of the protest of three prisoners who sewed up their mouths.

On September 25, a video appeared on the Internet in which prisoner Aryn Turaliev, born in 1996, reads out his appeal to the deputy prosecutor of Mangistau region, Azamat Valiev.

Turaliev informs that he has been sentenced for murder and possession of weapons to 14 years in prison and has been serving a sentence in ГM-172/6 since 2013.

“Mr. Prosecutor, until your arrival at the institution ГM-172/6, I refuse to eat and sew up my mouth, thereby causing harm to my health,” Turaliev reads out his appeal. “Since the administration of the institution violates my constitutional rights, I ask you to receive me and other prisoners on a personal issue. I am serving my sentence in stringent conditions.”

After these words, Turaliev takes out a needle with a thread and pierces his lower lip. Later, another two prisoners joined Turaliev’s hunger strike. They also sewn up their mouths.

As soon as this video was uploaded to the network, an investigation team consisting of employees of the Prosecutor’s office and investigators of the police department of Mangistau region immediately went to the institution ГM-172/6. The Prosecutor’s office said that a pre-trial investigation under the article “Torture” was launched.

Meanwhile, on September 26, Zhastalap Basarov, Head of the Penitentiary System Department (PSD) of Mangistau oblast, said that the reason for the protest was not at all the cruel treatment of the prisoners, but that they didn’t want to clean the territory of the colony.

“They have negative characteristics,” Basarov explained, noting that all three have several disciplinary sanctions for systematic violations of the maximum-security institution’s policy. “They repeatedly violated the internal regulations. Once a week, on a schedule, convicts, in accordance with the article 121 of the Penal Code, improve the territory of the institution. These guys refused to do this work without sound reason and sewed up their mouths, thus deciding to express their protest. No one violated their constitutional rights.

The Head of the PSD also noted that all three protesters were convicted of serious crimes – rape, murder and theft and sentenced to different terms of imprisonment – from 2.5 to 14 years.

After the meeting with Prosecutor’s officers, the stitches, that the prisoners sutured themselves, were removed and they were given medical assistance. All three began to eat.

It should be noted that shortly before this incident, the institution of ГM-172/6 was visited by the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan Arystangani Zapparov as part of the assignment of the country’s President Kasym-Zhomart Tokaev to inspect the activities of the institutions of the penal system in the regions.

The Deputy Minister visited all three institutions located in Mangistau region: ГM-172/6, ГM-172/8 – the institution of minimal security (colony settlement); ГM-172/10 – a mixed security institution (pre-trial detention center), which contains about 900 convicted and investigation-arrested persons.

Following the results of his inspection, Zapparov met with the staff of the regional PSD and urged them to develop constructive interaction with civil society institutions, as well as strictly observe the rights of prisoners. The Deputy Minister emphasized that the administration of the institutions must demand from subordinates a mandatory legal reaction to violations by convicts, prevent violations and work in accordance with the requirements of the Law.

Recall also that over the past month this is the second case in Kazakhstan, when prisoners sew up their mouths. As ACCA previously reported, prisoner Ruslan Bobrov, sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling drugs and serving his sentence in an emergency security institution (maximum security colony) EЦ-166/5 in the village of Arshaly in Akmola region, did a similar protest action for torture of “psychological and moral nature” in relation to him.