REFUGEES' AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS obtained from a judge. Jordanian NGO Jordan hosted over 600,000 refugees Sisterhood is Global reported that 13.2% from Syria, about one third of whom were of registered marriages in 2013 took place accommodated in six camps, the largest of before the bride’s 18th birthday. which had a population of over 100,000. The majority of refugees lived in towns and DEATH PENALTY cities throughout Jordan. While in principle Eleven men were executed on 21 December, maintaining an open-border policy to refugees the first executions in Jordan since 2006. This from Syria, the authorities closed the border followed the establishment in November of a to Syrian refugees on a number of occasions special committee of the cabinet to look into and prevented the entry into Jordan of the resumption of executions . Palestinians and Iraqis fleeing the Syrian conflict. The presence of so many refugees was a huge economic strain and placed a burden on Jordan’s resources, including water, education and health care. Insecurity increased due to the potential for the conflict to spread into Jordan. Republic of Kazakhstan Head of state: WOMEN’S RIGHTS Head of government: (replaced Women remained subject to discrimination in April) in law and practice, and were inadequately protected from sexual and other violence, including so-called honour crimes. Tens of There was no improvement in investigating thousands of women married to foreigners reports of human rights violations by law continued to be denied the right to pass on enforcement and security services and their nationality to their spouses and children. holding alleged perpetrators to account. In November, the government afforded them Bureaucratic obstacles and opaque internal greater access to education and medical care, ministerial regulations prevented victims but failed to end discrimination. The Ministry of torture and their relatives from obtaining of Justice was also reportedly considering justice. Similar obstacles continued to Penal Code changes to protect women hinder effective independent monitoring of against sexual harassment. places of detention. The right to freedom of At least 12 women and two children, a assembly continued to be restricted. Civil girl and a boy, were victims of so-called society activists feared that new legislative honour killings. In at least two cases courts proposals would restrict their freedoms of immediately commuted the death sentences expression and association. imposed on perpetrators of such killings to 10-year prison terms, apparently under TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT a provision allowing courts to commute The authorities repeatedly asserted their or reduce sentences if the victim's family commitment to eliminating torture and requests leniency. other ill-treatment. In September 2013, In July, UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, the Prosecutor General instructed national reported an increase in early marriage among prosecutors to “open a criminal investigation Syrian refugees, noting the associated risks into every incident of torture”. However, in this posed to girls. The legal age of marriage practice investigations into allegations of for women in Jordan was 18 unless special torture and other ill-treatment fell far short dispensation for an earlier marriage was

Amnesty International Report 2014/15 209 of international standards and failed to “absence of elements of a crime”, official deliver justice. language typically used after inadequate In November the UN Committee against internal investigations. The website also Torture expressed concern at “the gap stated that in 2013 and the first half of 2014, between legislation and protection from 31 police officers were convicted of torture- torture”, noting that the use of torture and related crimes, but did not specify the nature other ill-treatment to obtain confessions of the crimes committed, nor the number of “went beyond isolated incidents”, and that incidents these related to. less than 2% of complaints of torture led In November 2013, Kostanai Regional to prosecution. In October, at Kazakhstan’s Court awarded 2 million second round Universal Periodic Review, the (US$13,000) in compensation to Aleksandr UN Human Rights Council recommended Gerasimov following a decision by the UN that Kazakhstan establish an independent Committee against Torture in May 2012, investigations mechanism. which found Kazakhstan responsible for his The Criminal Procedural Code provides torture. However, the authorities had yet to that an official body should not investigate carry out a full and independent investigation complaints against its own officials. However, into Aleksandr Gerasimov’s torture complaint. complaints of torture and other ill-treatment In November, Roza Tuletaeva, a labour made against law enforcement and national rights activist, was released from prison on security officials were routinely referred to parole. She had been serving a five-year the internal investigations departments of the sentence for “inciting social discord” during Ministry of Internal Affairs, Financial Police or the 2011 oil workers’ strike in Zhanaozen. the Committee for National Security (KNB). At her trial in 2012 she told the court that These internal investigation departments are she had been tortured during interrogations. governed by internal regulations, which have There was no information of any impartial not been made public. In practice this meant investigations into her allegations of torture. that instead of an impartial investigation by a separate authority, torture complaints COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY were put through an internal screening The authorities continued to invoke process, which usually failed to check countering terrorism and other threats to them objectively. In most cases, screening national security as crucial to securing procedures concluded that complaints were national and regional stability. There were unfounded or that the perpetrators could not frequent reports of KNB officers violating be identified. human rights, including using torture and Independent NGOs registered between other ill-treatment to obtain confessions. 350 and 400 complaints of torture and other Among those particularly targeted by the ill-treatment in Kazakhstan annually in 2013 KNB were members or presumed members and 2014. However, they estimated that of banned or unregistered Islamic groups since 2010 the authorities had succeeded and Islamist parties; members of religious in bringing only some 50 officials to justice. minorities; and asylum-seekers from According to the website of the Office of the neighbouring countries, particularly Prosecutor General, only 43 crimes of torture and Uzbekistan. were registered from January to September, Relatives of some of those convicted with 47 individuals identified as alleged of terrorism-related offences claimed that victims, including 11 prisoners, three minors prisoners in Shymkent and Arkalyk high and one elderly person. During the same security prisons were serving their sentences period, 17 torture-related cases went on trial in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions. and 30 cases were closed because of the

210 Amnesty International Report 2014/15 Only limited independent monitoring access political slogans without prior permission was allowed at these facilities. were often regarded as violations of legislation In January 2013, legislation was introduced on public protests. In several incidents law which provided for broader measures in enforcement officials used force to break up countering terrorism and extremism, and unauthorized peaceful meetings. In dozens of the newly adopted Criminal Code, signed cases, organizers and participants were fined by President Nazarbayev on 3 July 2014 or sentenced to administrative detention for and expected to come into force in January up to 15 days. 2015, lowered the age of criminal liability for terrorism-related offences to 14 years. The FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION crime of “terrorism with loss of life”, in Article NGO registration was compulsory. Authorities 49.1 of the Criminal Code, was the only crime enjoyed wide discretion to deny such status still punishable by death although Kazakhstan and to close down groups for alleged, remained abolitionist in practice. often minor, violations of the law. The new Criminal Code and other related laws PRISON CONDITIONS contained provisions that human rights In 2013 Kazakhstan adopted legislation to set groups believed could be used to harass up a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). NGOs and their members, and to restrict their Its civil society members were elected on legitimate activities. 19 February 2014 at the first session of the The new Criminal Code classified “leading, NPM Coordination Council, after which they participating in or financing unregistered or began monitoring detention facilities across banned associations” as criminal offences. It Kazakhstan. However, the NPM mandate also criminalized “unlawful interference” in did not extend to all places of deprivation of the activities of state agencies by members liberty. For example, the monitoring group of public associations and defined leaders of was not permitted to inspect offices of police public associations as a separate category of departments and had no access to other offenders, providing for stiffer penalties for closed state institutions such as orphanages, them for a number of crimes. nursing homes and military barracks. The A working group set up by the Ministry of NPM also faced bureaucratic obstacles: in Culture was drafting a law regulating NGO order to undertake an urgent and unplanned activities that would establish legal grounds visit, NPM members had to obtain written for channelling all state and non-state funding permission from the Ombudsman, which for NGOs through a special NGO set up by could only be obtained during working hours, the government. NGOs were concerned this thus restricting the NPM’s ability to respond might limit their opportunities for independent rapidly to reports of torture. The NPM was fundraising. also not allowed to publish the results of its findings until the Ombudsman had approved FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION - MEDIA its annual report. Freedom of expression significantly deteriorated for independent media. In FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY February, Pravdivaya Gazeta newspaper was Freedom of assembly was restricted and closed down under a court ruling for minor peaceful protesters continued to be detained transgressions. Social media and blogs were and fined. Activists were required to obtain often restricted and internet-based resources prior permission from the local authorities for were blocked by court decisions taken in any public gathering or single-person picket. closed proceedings, due to their supposedly Distributing leaflets, joining spontaneous extremist or otherwise illegal content. protests or wearing clothing displaying

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