Azerbaijan, Baku, May 14 / Trend , V. Zhavoronkova/
Conditions of prisoners in Kazakhstan meet minimum international standards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak said after his visit to Kazakhstan.
Recently, there have been significant efforts to improve conditions in prisons, the UN press-release said.
Manfred Nowak said that the government very seriously treated his visit and provided him with unhindered access to all objects of his interest. At the same time, the statement indicates that "considerable efforts" have been made to arrange prisoners for inspection.
The special rapporteur said such arrangement was conducted from the best of intentions, but "it contradicts the very idea of the unannounced visits and independently revealing the conditions."
However, the special rapporteur concluded that tortures and ill-treatment is being applied to prisons, which is "clearly goes beyond individual cases." He drew particular attention to reports of beatings and ill-treatment of minors in the early stages of their detention.
The statement says that the legal base in Kazakhstan which provides safeguards for persons deprived of their liberty generally meet international standards, and these guarantees are used in practice.
As to the unsolved issues, Manfred Nowak noted the fact that, contrary to international standards, there is no independent body that would have the authority to make an immediate investigation into cases of torture and the law does not stipulate who should conduct such investigations.
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