Akunov Case
Torture and death in detention in Kyrgyzstan
The Case
The essex HR Clinic works in cooperation with the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) on
the preparation of a communication to the UN Human Rights Committee alleging violations of
Articles 6, 7, 9, and 2 (3) of the ICCPR by Kyrgyzstan. In April 2007, Mr. Akunov was arrested
after attending anti-government protests. He was detained overnight on an administrative charge
of public nuisance during which time he was allegedly abused and tortured by police, and the
following day was found dead while still in custody. The police alleged that Mr. Akunov killed
himself in his cell, however, this is contested by the family. OSJI and the HR Clinic argue
that the state is responsible for his death in custody and that the subsequent prosecutorial
investigation of the events was ineffective.
Progress
The team has undertaken the following tasks: (i) review of existing evidence and the drafting
of a memo to OSJI/lawyers in Kyrgyzstan requesting additional evidence/translations; (ii) drafting
of a memo to OSJI/lawyers in Kyrgyzstan on admissibility issues to be addressed as part of the
communication; (iii) preparation of summaries of the key right to life, prohibition against torture,
and prohibition against arbitrary detention cases; (iiii) preparation and updating the draft of the
communication. The team also assisted in drafting the request to the Physicians for Human Rights
to undertake an independent analysis of all medical evidence involved in the case.
Partner Organisations
Supervisors
Gabriela Echeverria (former)
Professor Françoise HampsonCoordinators
David Scamell (former)
Maria SuchkovaLinks
Documents
- Due to the confidential nature of the documents, we cannot provide any.