Kazakhstan, Zarechnoye 18.11.2014

According to nakanune.kz, after the internal troops entered the colony where Vladimir Kozlov is being imprisoned, more than 20 prisoners were beaten and placed in solitary confinement. Allegedly, the facility is now run in a military-style. 

The situation in the colony has been described by Irina Petrushova, editor-in-chief of respublika-kaz.info, on her Facebook page. During the previous week, the colony was taken over by the military; a brutal search was carried out and the inmates had all their belongings taken from them and destroyed. Moreover, more than 20 prisoners were beaten before being placed in solitary confinement cells, where they will be held for a period of between 7 days and 3 months. The authorities never provided any medical assistance to the battered inmates, even though some of them were in a very serious condition.  

The prisoners are also made to march through the assembly square and perform some kind of muster. On command they have to step forward, take off their caps and shout out their names along with the article according to which they were convicted. This gives rise to concerns among Kazakh lawyers, who point out that a penal facility is not a military unit. As attorneys stress, the use of violence was also unlawful.

Sources: nakanune.kz, respublika-kaz.info