A/66/44
4, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Furthermore, the State party should ensure that
the absolute prohibition against torture is non-derogable and that acts amounting to
torture are not subject to any statute of limitations.
Fundamental legal safeguards
(9)
While noting article 26 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on legal assistance, the
Committee expresses its serious concern at the State party’s failure in practice to afford all
persons deprived of their liberty, including detainees held in temporary holding facilities
(IVS), with all fundamental legal safeguards, as referred to in paragraphs 13 and 14 of the
Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2008) on the implementation of article 2 by States
parties, from the very outset of detention. The Committee is concerned that the Criminal
Code allows police officers to detain a person without the authorization of the prosecutor
general for 72 hours and without presentation to a judge for up to one year. It is reported
that detainees are frequently denied access to a lawyer and that violence is inflicted by
police officers to extract confessions during that period of time. The Committee notes with
concern reports that torture and ill-treatment of minors is widespread at the moment of
apprehension and during pretrial detention (CRC/C/TKM/CO/1, para. 36) (arts. 2, 11 and
12).
The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Ensure that all detainees are afforded, in practice, all fundamental legal
safeguards from the very outset of their detention, including the rights to prompt
access to a lawyer and a medical examination by an independent doctor, to contact
family members, to be informed of their rights at the time of detention, including
about the charges laid against them, and to appear before a judge promptly;
(b)
Ensure that minors have a lawyer and their parents or legal guardians
present at every phase of a proceeding, including during questioning by a police
officer;
(c)
Ensure that all detainees, including minors, are included in a central
register of persons deprived of liberty and that the register can be accessed by lawyers
and family members of those detained and others as appropriate;
(d)
Take measures to ensure the audio- or videotaping of all interrogations
in police stations and detention facilities as a further means to prevent torture and illtreatment.
Independence of the judiciary
(10) The Committee is deeply concerned at the ineffective functioning of justice system,
apparently caused in part by the lack of independence of the procuracy and judiciary, as
was noted by the Secretary-General in 2006 (A/61/489, para. 46). The Committee regrets
that responsibility for the appointment and promotion of judges rests with the President,
which jeopardizes the independence of the judiciary. The Committee express its concern
about the case of Ilmurad Nurliev, a Protestant pastor who was convicted of swindling
following a trial that allegedly violated numerous fair trial and due process standards (arts.
2 and 13).
The State party should take measures to establish and ensure the independence and
impartiality of the judiciary in the performance of duties in conformity with
international standards, notably the Basic Principles on the Independence of the
Judiciary. The State party should also permit an impartial and independent review of
Mr. Nurliev’s conviction.
GE.11-45568
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