CASE STUDIES 49
equipment is used. This should be undertaken using current international
standards, recommendations from torture-prevention monitoring bodies such
as the CPT, and UN mandate holders that have made recommendations and
highlighted reservations about certain types of equipment.
III. A regional hub for the trade in law-enforcement equipment
in Kazakhstan
The issue of the deployment of relevant law-enforcement technologies in
Kazakhstan was starkly highlighted by the Kazakh authorities’ response to the
demonstrations in Zhanaozen and Shetpe in 2011, in which 14 people were
killed. The Kazakh Government has subsequently stated that the units sent to
deal with the protests used deadly force because they lacked the less-lethal
equipment and training needed to respond in a different manner. The
government further stated that money would be allocated to equip riot-control
units with adequate less-lethal ‘means of restraint’ in the 2013–15 budgets.123
While it is unclear exactly what systems have been procured as part of this reequipment programme, as mentioned above, there is evidence that several
international manufacturers of law-enforcement equipment are active in
Kazakhstan. It was reported in August 2014 that the Kazakh authorities had
purchased 1300 cameras to be worn by police officers.124 Body-worn cameras
are increasingly being purchased by police departments across the world, for a
range of reasons including evidence detection, documentation of police
procedures and also to fight against corruption.
While Kazakhstan has not traditionally been a significant manufacturer of
law-enforcement equipment, the range of law-enforcement devices being
marketed by Kazakh-based companies continues to grow. This has been aided
by the establishment of the KADEX exhibition, which up until 2014 was the
only major regional defence exhibition not held in Russia or Ukraine offering
a showcase for companies aiming at Central Asian markets. Kazakh
companies are now official partners with a number of major law-enforcement
equipment suppliers, including ISPRA (Israel), LRAD (USA), Taser
International (USA) and SAE Alsetex (a subsidiary of the French Etienne
Lacroix Group). Indeed, it appears that the Kazakh-based distributor of SAE
Alsetex products is also promoting them at other regional security events.
A promotional film taken from the Central Asian International Exhibition,
Protection, Security and Fire Safety (CAIPS) in Uzbekistan in 2013125 shows
the stand of AlmaDK, a Kazakhstan based company, as well as a range of
products that are visually similar to those produced by the French firm SAE
123
See <http://www.kazakhembus.com/archived_article/zhanaozen-riot-trial-continues>.
‘The government of Kazakhstan has just purchased 1,300 of the Wolfcom 3rd Eye Police Body
Camera’, PoliceOne.com, 18 Aug. 2014, <http://www.policeone.com/police-products/bodycameras/press-releases/7473694-The-Government-of-Kazakhstan-Has-Just-Purchased-1-300-of-theWolfcom-3rd-Eye-Police-Body-Camera>.
125 CAIPS website, <http://www.ite-uzbekistan.uz/vis/caips/eng/presentation/brv.php>.
124
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