Almaty, June 23 (Interfax-Kazakhstan) - The activists of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law propose toughening the punishment for using torture in Kazakhstan.
"I believe the punishment for the use of torture provided for by the Criminal Code is too soft and does not correspond to the severity of the victim’s suffering," the director of the Astana office of the bureau Anara Ibraeva said at a Thursday press conference in Almaty.
Ibraeva cited the law of Ukraine, where the use of torture entails a punishment of 15 years in prison, as an example.
"In Kazakhstan the punishment is only 7 years in prison, if the torture caused medium to grievous bodily harm. In some cases a court may limit the punishment to a fine and prohibition to occupy certain posts," she noted.
According to Ibraeva, the absence of independent medical expertise is another obstacle in the way of combating torture.
"The problem of torture is complex. There is no single solution to it," she emphasized.
