CAT/C/57/D/611/2014 2.6 On the same evening, around 9 p.m., three Muslim men with beards came to the door. When the complainant opened the door, he was immediately hit by one of them and his nose was broken. Then he was kicked by the three men while trying to protect his face. The complainant’s wife, witnessing this incident, screamed and threw a chair through the window, hoping that the window would break and neighbours would notice. The neighbours heard the noise and called the police. They came to the complainant’s home and told the perpetrators that they had called the police. The perpetrators then left and threatened that, the next time they came, the complainant would be dead. 2.7 On 20 March 2002, the complainant went to the Department of Home Affairs 8 to file a complaint against the perpetrators, where he spoke with an officer, Major D.J.. The complainant’s face was then still bruised and his nose was broken. When the complainant told the officer about the attacks and about his sons being “crimped”,9 the officer told him he was probably drunk or perhaps insane, and should see a psychiatrist. The officer claimed that there were no such problems in the country, and that the complainant had made it all up, was not sane and needed medical treatment. The complainant then threatened that if he would not help him he would go to the media. The officer then told the complainant that if he did so he would be in real trouble and that he should leave Kazakhstan if he did not like it. 2.8 The complainant was furious after this conversation and felt powerless. On 21 March 2002, he called his friend S.V. and his wife to ask them what to do. They came to the complainant’s house at around 5 p.m. that evening. Then, plain-clothes policemen came to the house; one was holding a gun and the others were probably holding their guns under their coats. When they saw the complainant’s wife and friends, they looked surprised and told the complainant to come with them to the Department of Home Affairs because they had arrested suspects and wanted the complainant to identify them. 2.9 Upon arrival at the Department of Home Affairs, the complainant was brought to the basement. In the basement were cells and interrogation rooms. The complainant was brought to one of these interrogation rooms and was handcuffed to a radiator. He was hit on the head with a seat pad. Then he was hit and kicked by five policemen. They asked the complainant if Russians were oppressed in Kazakhstan. The complainant replied no. He was then hit on his head again and passed out. He does not remember how long he remained unconscious but, when he regained consciousness, he was no longer handcuffed and was no longer wearing any pants. He was naked from waist down and noticed that he had been raped. The officers again asked him if he had any problems in Kazakhstan, and he replied no. They threatened him that, if he complained again, everything that had happened to him would also happen to his family. They told him that it would be better if he left. After midnight on 22 March, they let him go. He took a taxi home. The taxi driver helped the complainant up to the fifth floor. Friends told the complainant’s wife that she and the complainant were no longer safe and that S.V. would pick them up early in the morning. 2.10 On 22 March 2002, at about 6 a.m., S.V. came to pick up the family and took them to a house. That day, they decided to flee the country. They could not go to Russia because they did not have Russian nationality and did not have close family there. S.V. used to work for law enforcement and used his contacts to find out how they could leave the country. Because they needed money, the complainant and his wife sold their house. Until April 2002, they stayed with S.V. On 1 May 2002, S.V. took the complainant and his family to an old cottage, where they stayed until 26 September 2002, while S.V. arranged for their travel. 8 9 GE.16-09780 The complainant provides no further details regarding this “department”. This is the word used by the complainant. The meaning is unclear, but it is believed it means “recruited”. 3