Mongolia

Mongolia Human Rights

Law enforcement officials continued to commit human rights abuses with impunity. Authorities failed to prevent, investigate and punish attacks against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people including attacks by law enforcement officials. Information on the use of the death penalty remained a state secret.

Allegations of law enforcement officials committing torture and other ill-treatment were frequently dismissed by the State General Prosecutor’s Office with no or inadequate investigation.

In July, the Parliament passed an Amnesty Law which led to over 2,192 people being released for minor crimes and misdemeanours committed before 24 June 2009. Those released included people being detained for alleged crimes committed during the July 2008 riot.

An investigation by the Special Investigation Unit into the case of four senior police officials suspected of authorizing and distributing live ammunition and 10 police officers suspected of using live ammunition in July 2008 was completed on 15 February. Further procedures to initiate prosecution were stalled until November because the defendants and their lawyers did not return the case files to the Special Investigation Unit. It was unclear how the Amnesty Law would impact on the prosecutions.

Death Penalty

All aspects of the death penalty are considered a state secret. The families and lawyers of those on death row received no prior notification of execution and the bodies of those executed were never returned to their families.