In another embarrassing setback for OSCE-chair Kazakhstan, the Open Society Justice Initiative has brought Astana before the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT).
“Kazakhstan has failed to prevent, investigate, or punish torture by police,” a statement said, referring to the case of Alexander Gerasimov, tortured by five police officers in 2007.
Using a technique called "dry submarino," the police tied Gerasimov's hands and held him down on the floor as one officer repeatedly jammed a knee into Gerasimov's back while suffocating him with a plastic bag.
The statement continues:
"Torture is endemic in Central Asia. Police frequently rely on violence to extract confessions rather than conduct proper investigations," said James A. Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, which is co-counsel with the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law in the complaint. "Failure to investigate or punish the perpetrators of abuse creates a vicious cycle of impunity and poisons the criminal justice system."
Gerasimov's case is the first individual complaint against Kazakhstan to be filed with the UN CAT since the country's ratification of the Convention Against Torture. It challenges Kazakhstan for torturing Gerasimov and failing to properly investigate his complaints, punish the perpetrators, or provide adequate reparations for his pain and suffering.
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