The Coalition Against Torture, together with M-Vector research company, conducted a survey to find out what Kyrgyzstanis know about torture.
Almost every fifth respondent (18 percent) at least once witnessed the use of torture or cruel treatment in relation to other people, and about 10 percent of the respondents reported that there were cases of torture in relation to their relatives in order to influence the respondent himself.
Twenty percent of respondents reported cases of conflicts with law enforcement agencies, while 28 percent of all respondents faced cases of violence or a real threat of violence from law enforcement agencies.
The incidents of violence most often occurred during identification (29 percent) and during interrogation as a suspect (also 29 percent).
Twelve percent of the respondents have ever been detained, and 5 percent of them have been tortured.
Only 38 percent of the detainees had their rights explained. The least frequently declared during arrest was the right to remain silent (44 percent of those who have ever been arrested).
