Baku/26.04.12/Turan:
Prevention of torture
and inhumane treatment is one of the activities of the OSCE Office in
Baku
within the framework of promoting rule of law in member countries. With
the
support of the OSCE, a draft law on the rights of persons detained as
suspects
or defendants has been prepared.
"We
hope that the bill will be adopted
in the final form before the summer," said Monica Martinez,
representative
of OSCE Baku, at a joint seminar with
the Ombudsman Administration.
The
first reading of the bill, which has
already been passed, ensures suspects and accused persons the right to
immediately inform their relatives about their detention and access to
lawyers.
Today's
event was organized together with
the staff of the Ombudsman and was devoted to the National Preventive
Mechanism
(NPM) against torture.
"We
are convinced that NPM plays an
important role in the prevention of torture and ill-treatment. I hope
that this
workshop helps to strengthen the protection of the rights of persons
deprived
of their liberty," said the Head of OSCE Office in Baku, Koray Targay.
In
Azerbaijan, the NPM was created two
years ago under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the
prohibition
of torture and inhuman treatment.
Ombudswoman
Suleymanova said that a special
group of 17 people was created for the implementation of NPM. According to her, the group conducts
monitoring of pre-trial detention, detention centers, and penal
institutions.
However, she pointed to the
limited
financial resources of the group, adding that the issue of state
funding for
the NPM will be addressed in 2012. 
