CAT/C/60/D/651/2015
matter has not been and is not being examined under another procedure of international
investigation or settlement.
6.2
The Committee recalls that, in accordance with article 22 (5) (b) of the Convention,
it shall not consider any communication from an individual unless it has ascertained that the
individual has exhausted all available domestic remedies. It notes that in the present case,
the State party argues that the complainant has not filed a request for a supervisory review
before the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan. However, the State party has not shown whether
and in how many cases supervisory review procedures were successfully applied in cases
concerning torture. In these circumstances, the Committee considers that the State party has
not provided sufficient information to demonstrate the effectiveness of filing a complaint
before the Supreme Court under the supervisory review procedure about ill-treatment or
torture, following the entry into force of the final decision of a court. 7 Accordingly, the
Committee considers that it is not precluded by article 22 (b) of the Convention from
examining the present communication. Having found no obstacles to the admissibility, the
Committee declares the communication admissible and proceeds with its examination on
the merits.
Consideration of the merits
7.1
The Committee has considered the communication in the light of all the information
made available to it by the parties concerned, in accordance with article 22 (4) of the
Convention.
7.2
The Committee notes that the complainant has alleged a violation of articles 1 and 2
(1) of the Convention on the grounds that the State party failed in its duty to prevent and
punish acts of torture. These provisions are applicable insofar as the acts to which the
complainant was subjected are considered acts of torture within the meaning of article 1 of
the Convention.8 In this respect, the Committee notes the complainant’s detailed description
of the treatment he was subjected to while in police custody and of the content of at least
two medical certificates which corroborate the information provided by the complainant
and provide detailed descriptions of the injuries. The Committee considers that the
treatment as described by the complainant can be characterized as severe pain and suffering
inflicted deliberately by officials with a view to obtaining a forced confession.
7.3
The Committee considers that under these circumstances, the State party should be
presumed liable for the harm caused to the complainant unless it provides a compelling
alternative explanation. In the present case, despite several investigations conducted by the
authorities, the State party provided no such explanation, merely denying involvement and
even suggesting that some of the injuries could have been self-inflicted. In the absence of a
plausible explanation from the State party, and in the circumstances of the present
communication, the Committee considers that due weight must be given to the author’s
detailed allegations. Accordingly, based on the detailed account which the complainant has
given of ill-treatment and torture, including names of perpetrators and at least two
witnesses, and the corroboration of his allegations in the medical forensic documentation,
the Committee concludes that the facts as reported constitute torture by the police within
the meaning of article 1 of the Convention and that the State party failed in its duty to
prevent and punish acts of torture, in violation of article 2 (1) of the Convention.
7.4
The complainant also claims that no prompt, impartial and effective investigation
was carried out into his allegations of torture and that those responsible have not been
prosecuted, in violation of articles 12 and 13 of the Convention. The Committee notes the
unrefuted evidence that the author raised his torture claims on numerous occasions,
including during his pretrial detention hearing and with the prosecutors. Furthermore, the
complainant addressed his torture claims in his letter dated 12 September 2011, which was
rejected by the Western Kazakhstan regional court on 23 September.
7
8
See, for example, communication No. 441/2010, Evloev v. Kazakhstan, decision adopted on 5
November 2013, para. 8.5.
See communication No. 269/2005, Ben Salem v. Tunisia, decision adopted on 7 November 2007, para.
16.4.
5