Human Rights Comissioner in the Republic of Kazakhstan Artur Lastayev held a meeting with the heads of law enforcement agencies of Almaty

         Within the framework of his working visit to Almaty, Ombudsman for Human Rights Artur Lastayev together with his territorial representative K. Maldybayev held a meeting with the heads of law enforcement agencies of the city.

         During the event, he talked about recent constitutional reforms, and outlined the role of representatives of the Ombudsman represented in each region of the country to ensure prompt restoration of violated human rights at the local level.

«Since the transfer of powers to independently review applications to the Almaty office of the Ombudsman at the beginning of thіs year, 144 applications on a variety of issues have been received, including disagreement with judicial acts, the actions of criminal prosecutors, etc.,» stated Lastayev.

         In his speech, the Ombudsman noted that the issues of prevention of torture remain relevant in Kazakhstan. He drew attention to the fact that today a lot has been done in the field of combating torture. In particular, a law was passed aimed at preventing torture and expanding the rights of convicts.

«The law was a continuation of Kazakhstan's consistent steps taken to eliminate of torture and other inhuman treatment, expand the rights of convicts and prevent the formation of a negative prison subculture,» stressed Lastayev.

         The Ombudsman also pointed out that on April 13 this year he signed a Memorandum of Mutual Cooperation with the Prosecutor General, under which joint visits to the buildings of criminal prosecution bodies and penitentiary institutions, organization of joint receptions for complainants, also explanatory work are planned.

«The Ombudsman's Office is not meant to replace the competence of executive or law enforcement bodies, but to serve as an additional resource in the restoration of human rights,» Lastayev said.

         At the end of the event, The Human Rights Ombudsman, together with representatives of the Prosecutor's Office, the Police Department  and the Department of Corrections of Almaty discussed the human rights agenda in the region and outlined plans for fruitful cooperation to promote and protect human rights.