Allegations of ill-treatment during arrest in Kyrgyzstan, violation of article 9 and 14 to due procedural deficiencies

Facts

The author is a national of Kyrgyzstan who claimed that the state party violated his rights under articles 7, 9, 10 and 14 of the Covenant. 

In June 2009 the author was summoned to offices in Bishek, where he was questionned by an investigator. The author was denied access to a lawyer, and when he refused to sign a confession, the author was handcuffed and subjected to physical pressure to sign a report detailing the interrogation. When he refused, the was transferred to a detention facility where he was held for two days. The following week the author was transferred to a pre-trial detention facility, where he was not allowed to contact relatives or a lawyer, and spent 18 days incommunicado, without personal hygiene arrangements. The facility had eight beds however held 13 people. 

The author was later found guilty of fraud and extortion and sentenced to four years imprisonment at a minimum security prison. All later appeals were denied. 

Complaint

The author thated that the use of psychological and physical pressure after being detained by the State Financial Police constituted cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of article 7. Further, he claimed that his detention was in violation of article 9 of the Covenant, and that the courts were not impartial constituting a violation of article 14

Admissibility

Based on the material before it, the Committee could not conclude that the author had been subjected to treatment contrary to article 7 of the Covenant. In the absence of more precise information or documentation from the author in this respect, the Committee found that the author’s allegations under article 7 were insufficiently substantiated for the purposes of admissibility and declared them inadmissible under article 2 of the Optional Protocol.

Merits

The Committee found that in the present case, the decision to sanction the author’s arrest was not in compliance with the national law and thus was arbitrary in nature, and in the absence of pertinent information or explanations from the state party, the facts as submitted amounted to a violation of the author’s rights as protected under article 9 (1) of the Covenant. Further, absent any pertinent observations from the state party, the Committee considered that the author’s rights to defence as protected under article 14 (3) (d) of the Covenant have been violated.

Recommendations

In accordance with article 2 (3) (a) of the Covenant, the State party is under an obligation to provide the individuals whose Covenant rights have been violated with an effective remedy in the form of full reparation. Accordingly, the State party is obligated to, inter alia, provide Evgeny Osincev with adequate compensation.

The State party is also under an obligation to take all steps necessary to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future, and to publish the views widely in the language of the state party. 

Implementation

Deadline:  15 September 2019

Committee’s assessment 133rd session (CCPR/C/133/2):

• (a) Providing adequate compensation: C
• (b) Non-repetition: No information

Committee’s decision: Follow-up dialogue ongoing. The Committee will request a meeting with a representative of the State party during one of the future sessions of the Committee.