Web pages about "Torture And Ill-treatment"

Zimbabwe: Pan-African Campaign of Solidarity for Zimbabwe

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:46:22 +0100

On Saturday 12 July 2008, following a call by CIVICUS: World Alliance For Citizen Participation, Amnesty International and the Global Call for Action Against Poverty (GCAP), citizens of Africa will unite to express their solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe who are suffering persistent violations of their rights. Saturday represents the launch of a Pan-African Campaign of Solidarity for Zimbabwe, and will be followed by events continent-wide.

The widespread killings, torture and intimidation of the political opposition that characterised the presidential election run-off on June 27 cannot be condoned under any circumstances. “By flagrantly and consistently violating the values upon which present day Africa is premised, Mr Mugabe has done great disservice to the people of Zimbabwe and the continent. We believe it is the responsibility of all Africans to urgently put a stop to Mr Mugabe’s anti-democratic activities” said Kumi Naidoo Honorary President of CIVICUS.

“The widespread killings, torture and assault of perceived opposition supporters must come to an end in Zimbabwe. Concrete action is long overdue and African leaders must end their silent acquiescence,” said Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

In this hour of crisis, the people of Africa stand together with the people of Zimbabwe. “We urge African leaders to call for space to be opened up so that civil society can play a role in tackling Zimbabwe’s current crisis – we are needed now more than ever as millions of people face hunger through growing food insecurity brought on by mis-governance.” said Adelaide Sosseh, GCAP Co-chair based in The Gambia.

Saturday’s Pan-African events will express the concern of people continent-wide for the situation in Zimbabwe, and demonstrate the unity with which Africans stand against the violations committed against Zimbabwe’s people. It represents the beginning of an Africa-wide campaign at the grassroots level, allowing African voices to speak out about injustice in Zimbabwe.

Note to Editors:
There are a growing number of African voices speaking out against the suffering in Zimbabwe and demanding action from the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and individual African governments. The types of action that they are calling for include:

Appointment of an independent commission of inquiry to look into the recent human rights violations and abuses
Posting of human rights monitors to report on the current situation
Urge a solution to the present political crisis and deep divisions amongst the people of Zimbabwe in the spirit of reconciliation and dialogue
Restoration of the independence of the judiciary and accountability of security forces and law enforcement agencies

There will be a range of activities taking place across the African continent on Saturday 12 July 2008, organised by local civil society organisations and concerned citizens. The expressions of solidarity that they will be making include:

Organising vigils outside the Zimbabwean embassies
Assembling outside government buildings or Houses of Parliament urging national governments to play a more active role on Zimbabwe
Meetings with heads of state, parliamentarians or local governments to urge action on Zimbabwe
Publishing articles or letters in the national or local press on violations of human and people’s rights in Zimbabwe
Organising press conferences with civil society representatives, government representatives and other experts on Zimbabwe
Issuing a press releases urging action on Zimbabwe
Directing people to sign a petition or take an e-action
Presenting memorandums or submissions to the African Union, Southern African Development Community and national governments

CIVICUS statement on Zimbabwe:
http://www.civicus.org/new/media/CIVICUS-Zimbabwe-Statement.pdf

Amnesty International statement on Zimbabwe:
http://www.amnesty.org/

GCAP statement on Zimbabwe:
http://www.whiteband.org/media/press-info/au-summit-egypt-the-chance-for...

For further information, please contact:
For CIVICUS:                                 For media queries:
Anupama Selvam                          Nastasya Tay
anupama.selvam@civicus.org nastasya.tay@civicus.org
+27 11 833 5959 ext. 107           +27 73 266 0493

For GCAP:                                     For Amnesty International:
Joe Donlin                                      On Call Press Officer
joe.donlin@civicus.org                 + 44 0777 847 2126

Violence and coercion mark Zimbabwe's election

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:07:34 +0100

Voting in Zimbabwe on Friday has been marked by a campaign of state violence and intimidation in the run up to the presidential election. Amnesty International has said that it is deeply disturbed by the campaign that is part of a deliberate strategy by the Zimbabwean government to ensure that Robert Mugabe wins the election.

The decision to hold the vote came despite calls by the international community to postpone the election until the security situation in Zimbabwe had improved. Across Zimbabwe, thousands of suspected supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have been harassed and intimidated.

"Today’s election is being held against a backdrop of widespread killings, torture and assault of perceived opposition supporters. Zimbabwe has been allowed to operate outside the African Union (AU) and UN human rights framework for far too long,” said Amnesty International.

"It is time for effective African and international solidarity with the victims of human rights violations in Zimbabwe. The people must not be left alone to suffer this ongoing violence."

Supporters – or perceived supporters – of the MDC have been arbitrarily arrested and detained. The MDC claims that about 2,000 of its members are in custody. Among the political detainees was the party’s Secretary General Mr Tendai Biti, who was released from detention on 26 June after being arrested on 12 June on charges of treason.

Over 80 people have been killed in the post-election violence so far – most of them MDC supporters.

"War veterans" have set up informal "bases" in rural and urban areas where they plan attacks against perceived MDC supporters. They conduct "re-education" sessions that include severely assaulting people suspected to be MDC supporters as a "lesson" to others. Victims include women, children and the elderly.

State security agencies such as the police and army are being used to pursue a partisan agenda – seriously compromising their constitutional responsibility to protect the human rights of all Zimbabweans.

Other perceived opponents of the government have also been targeted, including human rights defenders and lawyers. A number of lawyers have been forced to flee the country out of fear for their lives and the safety of their families.

Human rights defenders, including members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), have been arbitrarily arrested and denied bail purely for exercising their right to peaceful protest.

"Human rights activists like Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu from WOZA have been languishing in detention since their arrest on 28 May, solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful protest," said Amnesty International. "Meanwhile, murderers, torturers, and other perpetrators of human rights violations are left at large and given free rein to commit further human rights violations with impunity.”

Spotlight on torture

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:24:55 +0100

On 26 June, International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Amnesty International members and supporters are taking action around the world. They are calling on governments to reaffirm their commitment to the consensus affirmed after the Second World War - that torture and other ill-treatment are absolutely prohibited.

Click on the pictures to the right to watch a slideshow with images of the day.

Recently, there has been a new and acute threat to the international prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment in the context of government responses to the threat of terrorism. It is the validity of the absolute prohibition itself that has been challenged by the actions of governments around the world.

What this means in reality is that individuals are subjected to horrific practices. In the context of government counter-terrorism strategies, Amnesty International has documented practices such as:

beatings, electric shocks, simulated drowning, prolonged isolation and other physical abuse;
the return of individuals to countries where they are at risk of torture, sometimes on the basis of flimsy “diplomatic assurances”;
secret detention.

Amnesty International is calling on all governments to: condemn all forms of torture and other ill-treatment; prevent torture, including through ending secret and incommunicado detention; and hold to account those responsible for authorising, facilitating, or inflicting torture or other ill-treatment.

Today is not a day of passive remembrance but one for action: governments and citizens across the world should act to reverse the trend of recent years and eradicate these cruel and inhuman practices.

Don’t let torture go unchallenged:

In view of France’s Presidency of the European Union, please send an email to President Nicolas Sarkozy and urge him to lead the EU Council to take action to end rendition and secret detention;

Write to the Tunisian government and demand it taks steps to end torture and other ill-treatment;

Video: Torture can never be justified

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:43:42 +0100

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In the video:

Murat Kurnaz, former detainee in Afghanistan and Guantánamo

President Jimmy Carter, US President 1977 - 1981

Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

Mary Robinson, Former Irish President 1990 - 1997

Abu Omar, Victim of rendition and secret detention

Malcolm Nance, former counter-terrorism advisor for the US government

Make human rights in Tunisia a reality

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:25:31 +0100

A harsh and disturbing reality lies behind the image of Tunisia as a holiday paradise and human rights beacon that the government has sought to paint. In truth, it is a country where violations by security forces are rampant and go unpunished.

Saber Ragoubi was tried unfairly and sentenced to death in December 2007, largely on the basis of information obtained from him and other co-defendants under torture. At his trial, he said: “I was assaulted in Mornaguia prison and lost three of my front teeth; I request an investigation into the assault. I was also stripped naked to force me to shave my beard.” Read more about his case

Houssine Tarkhani was forcibly returned from France to Tunisia and was detained on arrival in June 2007. He has been charged with terrorist offences and is awaiting trial. When he was able to speak to his lawyer in 2007, he said: “I was beaten with a stick all over my body, given electric shocks and threatened with death. When I asked to read the police report, which I had been forced to sign without reading, I was subjected to further beatings. Read more about his case

The Tunisian government’s security and counter-terrorism policies and practices are leading to serious human rights violations, despite legal reforms that theoretically offer better protection.

Call on the Tunisian government to live up to the promises it has made on paper to respect human rights.

You can do something to improve the human rights situation in Tunisia by taking action on behalf of Saber Ragoubi and Houssine Tarkhani. Send a letter or a fax to the Tunisian authorities using the model letters attached and demand justice for them.

Video: Abu Omar, victim of rendition and secret detention

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:57:10 +0100

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US and Italian agents snatched Abu Omar from the streets of Milan in February 2003

He was rendered by US agents, via Germany, to Egypt, where he was held for nearly four years, including 14 months in secret detention.

Video: Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:10:54 +0100

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Manfred Nowak is the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

In May 2008, he spoke to Amnesty International about the role of European states in the US-led programmes of rendition and secret detention.

End rendition and secret detention: Europe’s duty

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:38:49 +0100

European states have been implicated in the US-led rendition and secret detention programme, in which people have been unlawfully detained and transferred from one country to another outside of any judicial process.

Some have been transferred from US custody to countries where torture and other ill-treatment is known to accompany interrogation; others have been transferred into US custody and subsequently held in detention centres in Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

A number of individuals have been subjected to enforced disappearance, including in secret CIA detention, and the whereabouts of some three dozen people remain unknown. Every one of the victims of rendition interviewed by Amnesty International has said they were tortured or otherwise ill-treated in custody.

Investigations by the Council of Europe and the European Parliament have recommended that Member States take measures to prevent such human rights violations occurring in the future and to ensure redress, including reparation, to the victims.

These recommendations have not been implemented to date.

Europe must face facts on rendition

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:34:19 +0100

“My life has changed and I feel like a destroyed man…. All night long I suffer nightmares and all day long I remember torture so I shake. “

Abu Omar, describing how he feels after the torture suffered in Egypt.

Usama Mostafa Hassan Nasr, known as Abu Omar, was snatched by US and Italian agents from the streets of Milan on 17 February 2003. CIA agents then rendered him, via Germany, to Egypt, where he was held for nearly four years, including 14 months in secret detention. He says that, for seven months, he was tortured up to 12 hours a day.
Abu Omar is one of the six cases of rendition and secret detention – involving thirteen men - highlighted in the report State of denial: Europe’s role in rendition and secret detention.

The report describes the involvement of European states - ranging from allowing CIA flights headed for rendition circuits to use European airports and airspace to hosting secret detention centres, or “black sites” – and their failure to admit or investigate violations carried out by their nationals or on their territory.

“European governments are in a state of denial and have been sidestepping the truth for too long,” said Amnesty International. “Their involvement in renditions and secret detention runs in stark contrast to their claims to be responsible actors in the fight against terrorism.”

Amnesty International’s six-point plan for Europe to end renditions and secret detention calls on states to condemn rendition and secret detention and take positive steps to bring those responsible to justice, ensure reparations for the victims and bring those responsible to justice.

What you can do now:

In view of France’s Presidency of the European Union, please send an email to President Nicolas Sarkozy and urge him to lead the EU Council to take action to end rendition and secret detention (link to rendition web action)

Demand justice for victims of rendition and secret detention.

Tunisia: Human rights lip service

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:37:52 +0100

The Tunisian government is misleading the world as it conveys a positive image of the human rights situation in the country while abuses by its security forces continue unabated and are committed with impunity, Amnesty International revealed in a new report today.

“The Tunisian government has repeatedly asserted that it abides by its international human rights obligations, yet this is far from the reality. It is high time that the authorities stop paying lip service to human rights and take concrete action to end abuses,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Programme. “As a first step, the Tunisian authorities must acknowledge the disturbing allegations documented in this report, commit to investigating them and bring those responsible to justice."

The report, In the Name of Security: Routine Abuses in Tunisia, details Amnesty International’s concerns regarding serious human rights violations being committed in connection with the government's security and counter-terrorism policies. In their efforts to prevent the formation of what they call “terrorist cells” inside Tunisia, the authorities have been responsible for arbitrary arrests and detentions which breach Tunisian law, and have forcibly disappeared detainees, used torture and other ill-treatment and tried, convicted and sentenced people using unfair proceedings. In addition, they have tried civilians before military courts and produced little evidence to substantiate the charges.

A broad definition of terrorism in the Tunisian Anti-Terrorism Law is used by the authorities to criminalize legitimate and peaceful opposition activities. Although some legal reforms were introduced in recent years to provide better protection for detainees, the laws are routinely flouted by the Tunisian security forces, and have not served as an adequate safeguard against torture, unfair trial and other serious human rights abuses.

Ramzi el Aifi, Ousama Abbadi and Mahdi Ben Elhaj Ali were three of the co-defendants in the Soliman case. Their lawyers report that they were punched, tied up and kicked by prison guards at Mornaguia prison on 16 October 2007, apparently because they had gone on hunger strike in protest against their conditions of detention. Abbadi sustained a serious eye injury and a deep, open leg wound and was in a wheelchair, unable to stand, when seen by his lawyer on 20 October 2007. Ramzi el Aifi told his lawyer that he had been tied up with a rope, beaten up and that a stick had been inserted into his anus. No investigation into these abuses is known to have been initiated by the Tunisian authorities and those allegedly responsible have not faced ustice. Ramzi el Aifi and Ousama Abbadi were sentenced to life imprisonment, though Abbadi's sentence was reduced to 30 years' imprisonment on appeal. Mahdi Ben Elhaj Ali was sentenced to 12 years in prison, reduced to eight years on appeal.

Most human rights abuses are committed by forces of the Department of State Security (DSS), who use torture virtually with impunity.

By failing to investigate allegations of torture, the Public Prosecutor and his staff as well as judges, who often lack independence, effectively help to cover up instances in which detainees are held incommuncado for prolonged periods in breach of Tunisia's own law, as well as torture of detainees in violation of Tunisian and international law. Through their silence and failure to act, they become complicit in the abuses.

“The Tunisian authorities have an obligation to protect the public and combat terrorism, but when doing so they must comply with their obligations under international human rights law," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. "They must ensure that the anti-terrorism and related provisions do not facilitate human rights abuses, and that, in practice, the DDS and other security forces at all times fully respect international human rights laws and standards.”

Despite this record of abuses, a number of Arab and European governments and the US government have returned people they suspected of involvement in terrorism to Tunisia, where they have then suffered arbitrary arrest and detention, torture or other ill-treatment, and blatantly unfair trials.

Houssine Tarkhani was forcibly returned from France to Tunisia on 3 June 2007, and detained on arrival. He was kept in secret detention in the DSS in Tunis for nine days, in violation of international human rights law, as well as three days longer even than the period permitted by Tunisian law for garde à vue detention. During this time, his lawyer reported, Houssine Tarkhani was beaten with a stick all over his body, given electric shocks, insulted and threatened with death. He was subjected to further beating when he asked to be allowed to read the police report, which he was not permitted to read. During tis detention in garde à vue, none of his immediate relatives were informed of his detention as required under Tunisian law. His family knew of his whereabouts only when he was brought before an investigating judge on 12 June 2007. He first appeared before the investigating judge without the assistance of his lawyers, who were not permitted access to him until 19 June 2007, when they saw him at Mornaguia prison. His lawyer’s request to have him examined for evidence of torture still remains unanswered.

“Instead of forcibly returning Tunisian nationals who face torture and unfair trials, foreign governments should be pressing the Tunisian government to take concrete steps to promote human rights reform,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

Note to editors:

Amnesty International experts will present the findings of the report at a press briefing in Paris at 15:00 GMT on Monday 23 June.

To arrange for an interview with a spokesperson in Paris, please contact Aurélie Chatelard on + 33 (0) 6 76 94 37 05.

To arrange for an interview with a spokesperson in London, please contact Nicole Choueiry, Middle East and North Africa Press Officer on +44 (0) 7831 640 170.