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Close to 10,000 radical are present estimated to beryllium held successful detention pursuing the riots. "We recognize that the Ministry of Interior has announced that immoderate 9,900 radical are successful detention arsenic of the 11th of January. Now, this is intelligibly a immense number," said OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell, briefing reporters astatine the United Nations successful Geneva (UNOG).
"Under planetary law, radical person the close to protestation peacefully and the close to explicit their opinions. And they shouldn't beryllium detained simply for expressing their opinions”, Ms. Throssell added.
“All those arrested and detained solely for exercising these rights should beryllium released immediately”, she added.
She said harm and demolition astir the country’s largest metropolis of Almaty had been wide witnessed and reported, and though the UN has nary wide breakdown of who is being detained, “clearly determination volition beryllium immoderate radical who person been arrested and are apt to beryllium charged," the OHCHR spokesperson said.
She added, that “at the aforesaid time, of course, we person to besides accent intelligibly that determination were besides equipped individuals who were taking to the streets of Almaty and different parts of Kazakhstan”.
Due process
Ms. Throssell stressed that each detainees should person entree to a lawyer, arsenic portion of their basal quality rights.
“What is precise important for america is that the ombudsperson, the Kazakh ombudsperson, is capable to fulfil afloat her mandate related to what is called the nationalist preventive mechanism, and that relates to torture, by visiting places of detention”, she said.
According to quality agencies, protests began connected Sunday erstwhile the authorities lifted its terms headdress connected liquified petroleum state (LPG), a fashionable substance for cars and heating – though that hike was aboriginal reversed. Unrest appeared to dispersed rapidly to see longstanding governmental grievances.
A authorities of emergency, which was declared successful respective areas of Kazakhstan connected 5 January (including successful the main metropolis of Almaty and the capital, Nur-Sultan) has been extended to the full country.
A week aft the commencement of the riots that shook the country, calm is gradually returning to Almaty, the largest metropolis successful Kazakhstan. A time of mourning is being observed passim the state connected Tuesday, portion the telephone network, Internet and nationalist transport are gradually being restored, OHCHR said.
‘Lethal force’ order
Meanwhile, UN autarkic quality rights experts connected Tuesday, called on the Kazakhstan authorities and information forces to “halt their unrestrained usage of force, including lethal force” directed astatine protesters and called for autarkic and human-rights based investigations into however the Government utilized unit successful caller days to quell protests.
In a statement, the Human Rights Council-appointed experts said they were profoundly acrophobic that Kazakhstan’s President reportedly gave orders to information forces and service to “open occurrence with lethal force” against protesters helium described arsenic “bandits and terrorists”.
The Special Rapporteur connected counter-terrorism and quality rights, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, who carried retired an authoritative sojourn to Kazakhstan successful May 2019 - including to Aktau and Almaty - some areas wherever protests excessively spot - said that Kazakhstan’s overly wide usage of the connection “terrorism” successful this discourse against protesters, civilian nine activists, quality rights defenders, journalists and governmental parties, appeared to beryllium aimed astatine instilling fearfulness and was profoundly concerning.
Her comments were endorsed by respective different autarkic UN experts.
‘Terrorism’ complaint wrongly applied
They cautioned against the inaccurate, rhetorical and overly wide usage of the term, noting specified usage was inconsistent with planetary instrumentality and undermined quality rights for each successful Kazakhstan.
Misuse of the connection “terrorism” undermines the information of all, and “cheapens” this word which has a circumstantial meaning successful planetary law, the connection continued.
The experts highlighted that the word should not beryllium utilized “to soundlessness those who bash not stock the Government’s opinion, who are protesting astir societal and economical conditions, and expressing governmental views.”
Acts of unit should beryllium appropriately dealt with nether Kazakhstan’s broad transgression code, they added, which is “adequately equipped to code these acts. The Government indispensable support the morganatic workout of cardinal freedoms, including state of expression, and peaceful assembly and association”, they said.
“The expansive branding of protesters arsenic terrorists is simply a mode to usage Kazakhstan’s overly wide coercion authorities that allows for the usage of force, including a ‘shoot to kill’ policy, against immoderate idiosyncratic determined to beryllium a ‘terrorist’,” the experts said.
“Such wholesale barriers to state of look and assembly premised connected coercion are perfectly contrary to the strict provisions nether planetary quality rights instrumentality connected the close to life.”
The experts recalled that the usage of lethal unit indispensable beryllium utilized solely successful self-defence and erstwhile each different means person been exhausted, including non-lethal force. They stressed that these principles were besides applicable to overseas forces operating connected the territory of Kazakhstan with its consent.
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