Since the turn towards democracy in 1990, Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

has in principle acknowledged the concept of human and civic rights. However, certain problems remain, especially within the police and security sector. Critics like the UN's Special Rapporteur on torture

Torture

Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...

, Manfred Novak, have repeatedly criticized Mongolia's prisons, and especially the conditions surrounding the death penalty, as cruel and inhuman. Another point of critique is that statistics on executions are kept secret. Additionally, there have been several instances of police violence or arbitraryness over the past years.

Issues

• The yet unsolved murder of S. Zorig
  Sanjaasürengiin Zorig
  Zorig Sanjaasuren was a prominent Mongolian politician and leader of the country's 1990 democratic revolution. He was called the "Golden Magpie of Democracy". His murder remains unsolved...
  
  , one of the principal leaders of the Democratic Party
  Democratic Party (Mongolia)
  The Democratic Party is a conservative liberal and libertarian political party in Mongolia. Its primary goals are the continued transformation of Mongolia into an open and democratic society.- History :...
  
  , in 1998
• The abduction of D. Enkhbat from France. Allegedly, he was suspected to be involved in S. Zorig's assassination. The Mongolian Secret Service abducted him from Le Havre in 2003, brought him to Berlin, where he was drugged and brought onto the regular MIAT plane to Ulaanbaatar. He was, however, not tried for being involved in the Zorig case. Instead, the authorities said they imprisoned Enkhbat because a health certificate that had led to a release from a previous sentence had been a forgery. Additionally, he and his lawyer L. Sanjaasüren were convicted for exposing state secrets in 2004. Enkhbat died on April 22, 2006. For his role in D. Enkhbat's kidnapping, B.Khurts, a high-ranking official in Mongolia's National Security Council, was arrested while on official visit in the UK in late 2010.
• The detention of MP L. Gundalai. In August 2003, the opposition MP L. Gundalai was detained from a flight to South Korea after a week-long conflict with then minister of Justice Ts. Nyamdorj (MPRP). Witnesses said the police showed no arrest warrants or identity cards. A videotape of the incident allegedly showed Lamjav Gundalai’s bodyguard, who was also arrested, being choked, and his assistant being beaten. Gundalai was released the next day.
• In May 2006, Eagle TV reporters Batdorj, Bayanbat, and News Director Orgil were confronted by police when they tried to film the teardown for the morning news. According to the TV station's Managing Director Tom Terry, the police officer repeatedly smashed his fist into the camera, causing damage significant enough that it no longer works properly and will have to be sent for repair
• The deaths of five people during the July 1st, 2008 riots, whose exact circumstances remain unclear. Additionally, there were allegations of police brutality against people arrested in connection to the riots.

External links

• Amnesty international: Mongolia
• Amnesty International report: Attacks on freedom of expression
• Censorship in Mongolia: IFEX
  International Freedom of Expression Exchange
  The International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
  
  
• Globe International - A freedom of expression advocacy group in Mongolia