An international human rights group says authorities in Kazakhstan are failing in their duty to investigate reports of torture and other ill treatment by police and prison staff.
In a report published on March 3, Amnesty International said human rights groups in Kazakhstan receive hundreds of reports of torture and other ill treatment each year.
John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's director for Europe and Central Asia, said "the failure to investigate torture and prosecute those responsible leaves victims hopeless and intimidated."
Dalhuisen said torture victims in Kazakhstan must rely on their families and a small group of activists and lawyers to "negotiate the labyrinthine process of appealing against a refusal to investigate a report of torture."