OSCE Centre in Bishkek supports improved conditions for detainees and personnel at Talas Province police detention centre

TALAS, Kyrgyzstan, 20 July, 2009 - The OSCE Centre in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry and the Talas city state administration presented a newly constructed and equipped boiler room for the Talas Provincial Police Directorate's temporary detention centre (IVS) today.

The boiler room was provided with the OSCE Centre's support to improve conditions for detainees and personnel who suffered during last winter's nationwide electricity rationing. It is part of an initiative by the OSCE Centre, the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry and civil society groups to promote human rights at police detention centres in the Talas, Naryn and Chui provinces.

"Improving detention conditions and the treatment of detainees, in line with national legislation and international norms, is crucial for overall prison security, and the welfare and dignity of detainees and custodial staff alike. The OSCE Centre, through its penitentiary and police reform programmes, will continue to give support to the human, infrastructure and training aspects of detention," said Ambassador Andrew Tesoriere, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek.

The OSCE Centre, along with the Talas-based non-governmental organization Soyuz Edineniya and Naryn-based NGO Nurjolber, has monitored police detention centres and their compliance with international and OSCE human rights standards for detainees, as well as provided free legal and medical aid to detainees and legal services to personnel. The Centre has also helped to install heating and plumbing systems and improve ventilation and outdoor spaces at a number of detention centres in the three provinces.

"We are pleased with the co-operation between the Ministry of Interior and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek to support the Kyrgyz police, particularly in Talas province," said Deputy Interior Minister Manas Akmatbekov. "The construction of the boiler room, along with the aid to detainees and legal advice to personnel, will significantly contribute to the observation of human rights in the police detention centre."