Accessibility links

Breaking News

UN Expert Urges Kyrgyzstan To Prevent Torture


Juan Mendez, the UN's special rapporteur for torture
Juan Mendez, the UN's special rapporteur for torture
A United Nations human rights expert has urged Kyrgyz authorities to prevent abuses, torture, and ill-treatment and to end impunity by ensuring that alleged perpetrators are held responsible.

In a statement released on December 14, Juan Mendez said that in Kyrgyzstan, there was "a serious lack of sufficiently speedy, meaningful, thorough, and impartial investigations" into allegations of torture and ill-treatment, as well as lack of effective prosecution of law enforcement officials.

His statement came a day after he wrapped up a fact-finding mission in the country.

On his visit, Mendez interviewed people held in various detention facilities, as well as victims of torture and ill-treatment in Bishkek, Osh, and Jalal-Abad.

Mendez noted that the conditions in detention centers he visited ranged from "adequate to dreadful."

He stressed that Kyrgyz authorities need to restructure procedural safeguards against torture, including by creating a transparent system of access to legal counsel for detainees.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG