DUSHANBE, May 10, 2016, Asia-Plus -- The first in a series of OSCE-supported training courses for representatives of the Interior Ministry, Prosecutor and Ombudsman offices and civil society on the human rights of persons in police custody took place on May 4, 2016 in Gharm, the administrative center of the Rasht district.

According to the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, some 20 participants were instructed on international standards and best practices in this field, as well as Tajikistan’s international commitments and relevant aspects of the country’s domestic legal framework.  The course also reflected on the police powers of arrest, search and interrogation, as well as police obligations in the registration of arrested and detained persons, ensuring access to legal and medical assistance and notification of relatives or other third party.

Mulloloiq Shobadalov, head of special management facilities at the Tajik Interior Ministry, who was also one of the training experts, noted that the courses were well-timed and in line with broader police reform efforts in Tajikistan.  He encouraged the OSCE Office to continue this initiative and support further training activities for a broader law enforcement audience.

Wolfgang Nikolaus, Counter Terrorism and Police Issues Adviser at the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, believes that the training courses will foster further cooperation between law enforcement agencies, the Ombudsman’s office, legal practitioners and civil society.  “Such cooperation is an essential element in our current efforts to support the reform of law enforcement agencies, as it makes communities more secure in the long term and guarantees the sustainability of our engagement,” he said

Additional courses in this series, which is part of the OSCE Office’s police reform project, will take place in Khujand, Kulob and Qurghon Teppa cities later this month.