ALMATY -- Human rights activists in Kazakhstan have announced that they established a new nongovernmental organization called the Coalition Against Torture, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.
The founders of the new NGO include such organizations as Kazakhstan's Bureau of Human Rights, Human Rights Charter, Center for Legal Studies, and MediaNet.
The new group was established on the eve of the International Day In Support Of Victims Of Torture, marked each year on June 26.
Despite Kazakhstan having officially ratified UN various resolutions and conventions, observers say torture is still widely practiced in Kazakhstan's prisons and detention centers.