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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ULAANBAATAR 000858 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV MG
SUBJECT: Mongolian Human Rights Commission Claims Widespread Abuse 
of Suspects, Poor Conditions for Pre-Trial Detainees 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: The Mongolia's National Human Rights Commission annual 
report devotes 29 pages to chronicling the widespread abuse of 
pre-trial detainees and the poor conditions under which they are 
imprisoned.  It's grim reading, with case after case of deaths 
caused due to beatings, reportedly often by cellmates instructed by 
investigators to coerce confessions.  The Commission notes that a 
legal system dependent on confessions and investigators whose pay is 
tied to the number of cases they solve provide strong inducements to 
abuses.  A climate of impunity exists since legal provisions contain 
loopholes and prosecutors fail to prosecute even well-grounded 
cases.  The Commission declared that no pre-trial detention facility 
in Mongolia meets national standards, with most lacking heating, 
sanitation, or ventilation.  Overcrowding, abysmal food and the real 
risk of catching tuberculosis add to the miseries of those awaiting 
trial, according to the report.  The Commission hopes that its 
report, along with the 2005 criticism of the UN Special Rapporteur 
on Torture, will prompt adoption of at least some of its 
recommendations.  The government's working group convened in the 
wake of the Rapporteur's criticism has drafted some helpful changes 
to the criminal code, and the Cabinet has submitted these to the 
parliament.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Following Up on the Special Rapporteur 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  Mongolia's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) released its 
annual report on human rights conditions in May.  For the first time 
in the body's five year history, the report was discussed in 
parliament. The National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) consists 
of three senior civil servants nominated by the president, the 
Supreme Court, and the parliament for terms of six years. It began 
operations in 2001.  Police abuse of suspects and poor prison 
conditions have been recurrent major themes in the NHRC's annual 
reports.  This year's report contained an even lengthier -- and 
grimmer -- expose of these problems, frequently citing the June 2005 
visit to Mongolia of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (the 
report on that visit was released in December, and is available at: 
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G05/ 
167/32/PDF/G0516732.pdf?OpenElement).  The head of the NHRC noted to 
Poloff that the NHRC invited the Rapporteur to Mongolia in the hopes 
that external attention to the situation would aid in bringing about 
corrective action. 
 
Beating Out Confessions 
----------------------- 
 
¶3.  The NHRC found widespread prisoner allegations of coercion, and 
cited many example cases where abuses had been proven or were 
credible.  The Commission noted that the UN Special Rapporteur had 
found that, "The criminal justice system, which relies heavily on 
obtaining confessions for instituting prosecutions, makes the risk 
of torture and ill-treatment very real."  Among the 1,338 detainees 
the Commission surveyed at eight pre-trial detention facilities, 
over 70% said they had confessed after either duress or actual 
force.  The situation was especially dire in Gants Khudag and Tuv 
Aimag detention facilities (note: both near Ulaanbaatar), where 80% 
of detainees made such claims. 
 
¶4.  The NHRC cited many credible cases where suspects were placed in 
cells with violent convicts who had been instructed by investigators 
to coerce confessions.  The Commission noted that cases have become 
even more widespread despite a 2002 State Great Hural report 
condemning the practice.  The NHRC reported that it had investigated 
an April 2005 case in Tuv aimag where a suspect in a homicide case 
had died 12 days after arrest; he had been released with severe 
bruising over his body and breathing problems, and died from liver 
failure.  According to the NHRC, the man's cellmate for nine days 
admitted he had beaten the deceased, but said he had done so under 
the instruction of an investigator who wanted the homicide suspect 
to confess.  The NHRC found evidence which corroborated these 
allegations.  While the case was referred to the prosecutor's 
office, no charges were filed against the investigator.  In a June 
2005 case, police in an Ulaanbaatar district detained a homicide 
suspect for three days without informing his relatives.  On the 
third day, he was returned to his family, beaten with bruises all 
over his body, and incoherent.  He died shortly after being 
delivered to a trauma unit.  The NHRC concluded that, "The 
circumstances of his death would suggest that he was tortured in 
order to extract testimony." 
 
¶5.  The NHRC found that confessing to what one actually did is not 
necessarily enough for investigators; in fact, the NHRC claimed 
there is an increasing tendency among investigators to get such 
persons to confess to other crimes.  The Commission cited the case 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000858  002 OF 004 
 
 
of a man detained at Darkhan-Uul Aimag police apprehension facility 
in May 2005, after which he genuinely confessed to the theft of 
three horses.  However, the investigator demanded the man include in 
his statement a confession of the theft of other livestock including 
three cattle and twenty-six more horses.  The man refused and was 
beaten with a baton on his arms, legs, and ear, resulting in serious 
trauma. 
 
¶6.  The NHRC expressed particular concern about the poorly-monitored 
actions of short-staffed police stations in rural soums (counties). 
"The public inquiry revealed that operations of these police 
stations would constantly breach human rights in the community." 
The Commission cited cases uncovered during its inquiry in Uvs 
aimag, including one soum where a police officer routinely beat 
intoxicated persons and handcuffed them to poles barefoot in winter 
(Note: winter temperatures in Mongolia routinely reach -40F 
degrees).  Sixty persons petitioned the aimag prosecutor to take 
action; the prosecutor declined for "lack of substantial evidence," 
after which the officer became even more violent. 
 
Pay for Performance 
------------------- 
 
¶7.  The NHRC found that "pay for performance" agreements with 
investigators closely tie salaries to cases solved, and thus are a 
direct contributor to human rights violations.  The Commission cited 
the agreement for an investigator in one Ulaanbaatar district which 
ties 45% of pay to clearing a stated number of cases within time 
limits and uncovering specific numbers of crimes; failures to meet 
the marks result in deductions from pay.  The NHRC concluded that, 
given the many factors which affect criminal investigations other 
than police ardor, including resources and technology, agreements 
tying pay to cases cleared lead to violations of rights by 
investigators. 
 
A Climate of Impunity 
--------------------- 
 
¶8.  The Commission noted, "In the past three years, the 
Investigation Department of the General Prosecutor's Office received 
2,100 complaints and petitions on alleged crimes by law enforcement 
officers, 4.2% of which were in relation to cases of 
self-incrimination under coercion, duress, threat, and other illegal 
means. Statistical analysis of data revealed that such complaints 
had increased annually by 4.2% and 5.6% respectively. During this 
period (2003-2005) investigation proceedings were conducted on 11 
cases of alleged forced confessions; three cases were dismissed. 
Even though torture victims are discouraged from filing complaints, 
despite remedial efforts, these statistics prove that such 
violations of human rights are persistent in the system." 
 
¶9.  The UN Special Rapporteur told the UN Human Rights Council in 
September 2006 that, "I found that impunity goes unimpeded (in 
Mongolia) because of the absence of a definition of torture in line 
with the Convention, the lack of effective mechanisms to receive and 
investigate allegations, and a basic lack of awareness of the 
standards relating to the prohibition against torture on the part of 
prosecutors, lawyers and the judiciary."  In its May report, the 
NHRC found that, "Loopholes in the legislation maintain depraved 
practices where cases relating to abuse of authority, torture, and 
ill-treatment by law enforcement officers are dismissed on the 
grounds of insufficient evidence, mutual settlement between the 
offender and the complainant, or that the offender had compensated 
damages.  In 2005, more than 256 police officers were investigated 
in relation to alleged crimes, and half of the cases were dismissed 
on the above grounds.  The percentage of cases dismissed is well 
above average when compared to other types of cases and disputes." 
Rather than independent investigations of credible allegations of 
torture, the Commission found that, "the entire response mechanism 
(is) limited to the production of referrals and letters by 
organizations and their officials."  (Note:  The USAID-funded 
Judicial Reform Project helped equip a Special Investigative Unit, 
which investigates crimes alleged to be committed by police.  The 
unit has investigated hundreds of alleged crimes.  While the unit 
has passed its finding to prosecutors, the number of convictions has 
been disappointing, and in two cases, police officers were promoted 
after their convictions.) 
 
¶10.  Among other problems, the Commission noted that Mongolia's 
criminal law does not define inflicting mental pain as torture, and 
only makes infliction of physical torture an offense for 
investigators and inquiry officers; ordinary police and other 
officials cannot be punished for torture.  No language in the 
criminal code allows prosecution for complicity in torture, which 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000858  003 OF 004 
 
 
the Commission noted is a glaring fault given that, "acts of torture 
are not administered directly by a criminal investigation official 
but rather, with his consent, investigation or acquiescence, by 
other persons, including inmates."  Civil damages for torture can 
only be pursued for actual material damages, not mental pain or 
other damages. 
 
¶11.  The Commission cited a case in which a man genuinely confessed 
to stealing 26 horses, but initially refused to add on other 
unsolved thefts to his confession.  He was ultimately induced to do 
so after undergoing imprisonment during which his weight dropped 
from 130 to 98 pounds.  The man died after release due to 
tuberculosis contracted in prison, where he had received only 
limited and substandard medical care.  In 2003, a court dismissed a 
suit for damages brought by his relatives, ruling that nothing 
illegal had been done.  "In other words," wrote the Commission, "the 
courts decided that prolonged detention, leading to health detriment 
and subsequent death, could be justified by investigation 
requirements." 
 
Throwing Away the Key 
--------------------- 
 
¶12.  The Commission noted that Mongolian legal provisions allowing 
prolonged pre-trial detention -- 30 months for "serious crimes" and 
24 months for other offenses -- had been criticized by the UN 
Special Rapporteur as a violation of international standards.  In 
its own survey of inmates in eight detention facilities, the 
Commission found 26.4% who had been in detention longer than six 
months, including 8.1% for more than a year, and 1.2% for over two 
years.  The Commission noted that during a November 2005 inspection 
visit to Gants Khudag it found four detainees who had been held 
longer than the 24-month detention limit by virtue of letters from 
the prosecutor's office.  The letters incorrectly asserted that 
certain periods of detention should not be counted against the 
limit, which led the Commission to express alarm that such tactics 
"illustrate how far illegal actions could be undertaken." 
 
¶13.  The Commission also expressed concern about the fact that 
prisoners frequently lack legal representation, and often are unable 
to meet with either lawyers or family members.  The Commission 
commented that the lack of regular, confidential access by outsiders 
to prisoners reduces the likelihood torture can be prevented or 
detected.  The Commission noted that, "In practice, the provision in 
the executive decree (issued in 2005 by the Minister for Justice and 
Home Affairs) empowers the inquiry officer to approve either a visit 
or meeting to the detainee, depending on the 'progress' of the 
investigation."  The Commission noted that conditions at many 
detention centers, and especially at Gants Khudag, make private 
meetings effectively impossible.  Of the 1338 detainees surveyed by 
the Commssion, 63.6% were receiving visits, and 36.4% were not; in 
Gants Khudag, 44.2% were not receiving visits.  Moreover, 31.1% of 
the detainees were not receiving legal assistance, and 22.3% had 
never had any individual meetings with their lawyer.  In one aimag 
detention center, 61.2% of the respondents had never received any 
legal assistance. 
 
Appalling Conditions in Detention Facilities 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  The NHRC noted that in 2004 it conducted a joint inspection of 
all detention facilities with the Ministry of Justice.  During its 
inquiries in the year before the new report, it examined what 
corrective action had been taken at various facilities.  Its 
conclusion:  "From the results of both inspections, it became 
apparent that no single detention facility meets national standards. 
 Cells at the facilities are built without external windows ... (and 
have a) total absence of ventilation and sanitation systems.  ... 
Most cells are without heating systems and with extremely low 
temperatures during the winter cold." 
 
¶15.  The NHRC also found that overcrowding was routine.  The Gants 
Khudag detention facility in Ulaanbaatar held 1009 persons in July 
2005; its rated capacity was no more than 670 persons.  Some cells 
held 10-12 detainees, with the result that prisoners had less than 9 
square feet each.  The NHRC commented that, "Overcrowding at aimag 
detention cells is even worse, and poor ventilation and sanitation 
systems further worsen the conditions."  (Note:  Officials told the 
Embassy that in late November Gants Khudag held 694 inmates, only 
slightly more than capacity.  This is a welcome improvement, but may 
be the short-term result of an amnesty passed by Parliament in June 
which not only pardoned convicted inmates but exempted some persons 
from punishment who had committed crimes but had not yet been 
convicted or even charged, thus lowering the number of persons in 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000858  004 OF 004 
 
 
pre-trial custody.) 
 
¶16.  The NHRC stated that, "Contrary to international standards, 
conditions at pre-trial detention centers are inferior to those at 
penitentiary facilities. ...most cells at pre-trial detention 
facilities do not have clean water supply... The food ration of the 
detainees is limited to meals based on intestines and millet... the 
cheapest food stock available in the market."  During its July 2005 
visit to Gants Khudag, the NHRC found 43 undernourished detainees, 
some of whom had lost more than 30 pounds.  The Commission also 
noted that prisoners not infrequently contracted tuberculosis in 
pre-trial detention facilities; at least 32 detainees in Gants 
Khudag in 2004 had done so, and 8 in 2005. 
 
NHRC's Recommendations 
---------------------- 
 
¶17.  The NHRC concluded the 29 pages chronicling the situation with 
13 broad recommendations, ranging from ensuring that Mongolia's 
criminal code fully covers all offenses envisioned in the Convention 
Against Torture to reducing allowable pre-trial detention and 
strictly enforcing limits, to ensuring regular private visits to 
detainees by family and lawyers to replacement of detention 
facilities on a phased basis. 
 
Changes Presented to Parliament 
------------------------------- 
 
¶18.  As a result of the Rapporteur's report, the government convened 
a working group.  The USAID-funded Judicial Reform Project worked 
with this group on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code.  Draft 
amendments to the Code have been approved by the Cabinet and 
submitted to Parliament.  The draft amendments reduce the time 
allowed in pretrial detention for less serious crimes, which improve 
the access of lawyers to suspects and people questioned about a 
crime and other areas relevant to arrestees and detainees.  The 
working group also considered what improvements might be made in 
conditions at pre-trial detention centers. 
 
The Benefit of Public Attention 
------------------------------- 
 
¶19.  Even before those legal changes, the UN Special Rapporteur's 
visit and the NHRC's sustained attention to the issue may be having 
positive effects.  A lawyer active in human rights cases told 
emboffs on December 6 that there have been fewer major prison abuse 
cases this year than last year. She had not heard of any 2006 cases 
of investigators coercing one inmate into torturing another to 
induce a forced confession.  Moreover, she said, fewer people have 
died from tuberculosis because measures were finally taken to 
establish decent hospitals for prisoners, as the specific result of 
a case highlighted by the UN official.  She also cited the helpful 
effect which the U.S. Human Rights Report has in highlighting human 
rights problems, and therefore helping to spur improvements. 
 
Minton