Three Kazakh police officers given prison sentences for torture

    A court in Atyrau has sentenced three police officers to prison terms of between one and two years for torturing a suspect.
    The three officers were found guilty on July 8 of beating and torturing a man in December, forcing him to confess to five thefts.
    It is rare for Kazakh police officers to be put on trial for torture or other violations of suspects' rights.
    In recent months, however, several police officers have faced trials for alleged torture.
    In November, two police officers in Kazakhstan’s northern Akmola region were sentenced to three years in jail for torture.
    In January, a court in the northern Kazakh region of Kostanai set a historic precedent for Kazakhs and other Central Asians seeking redress for police torture by upholding a decision to award compensation to a man who was tortured by police in 2007, according to RFE/RL.