DUSHANBE, June 20, Asia-Plus -- A Fight Against torture in Central Asia project has been launched in Tajikistan.

Tajikistan''s Bureau on Human Rights and the Rule of Law is implementing the project under support of Freedom House, US-based non-profit and nonpartisan organization, and the European Commission. 

According to the national project coordinator Qahramon Sanginov, the project aims to fight torture in Central Asia by different ways, including strengthening of potentials of human rights organizations on documenting torture cases, legal protection of victims of tortures, development of new strategies and approaches to getting regular access to closed institutions, and systematic documentation of and analysis of tortures. 

Besides, the project participants intend to strengthen attention of media, and get professional coverage of practice of tortures and relevant issues out of media.    

The project involves human rights activities, journalists, lawyers, victims of tortures and members of their families, officers from the law enforcement agencies, officials from president’s office, as well as MPs.  

Sanginov noted that a coalition comprising 15 human rights activists from all regions of the country had been set up in the country.  One of main directions of the coalition’s activity is to document cases of tortures, release of information on torture issues, carry out advocacy campaigns and so forth.  

The project is designed for two years and covers Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.