32 lawyers of the Almaty Bar Association participated to a seminar on “Prevention of ill treatment and torture: practical issues” on 21 April 2023. The seminar was organised in co-operation with the Almaty Bar Association and Republican Bar association of the Republic of Kazakhstan.  

The seminar specifically focused on the procedural and evidential considerations of securing effective investigation of alleged deliberate ill-treatment. The methodology of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) in conducting visits to places of detention and documenting cases of ill-treatment was presented to the participants. The seminar also included case studies and practical exercises to help lawyers understand the challenges and complexities of investigating and prosecuting cases of torture and ill-treatment.

By providing a comprehensive overview of the subject matter, the seminar aimed to equip legal professionals with practical tools to prevent abuses and uphold human rights in their daily practice. All interlocutors agreed that the seminar allowed them to enrich their knowledge and to see on concrete examples, through practical exercises, how these European standards could be applied on national level.

The activity was organised in the framework of the action "HELP in Central Asia", within the Central Asia Rule of Law Programme 2020-2023, a joint initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.