BAN KI-MOON URGES RATIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL TREATY BANNING TORTURE
New York, Jun 26 2007 5:00PM
Marking the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other United Nations officials today roundly denounced the practice and called on all countries to ratify the international treaty that bans it.
To commemorate the Day, “let us speak with one voice against the perpetrators of torture, and for all who suffer at their hands,” Mr. Ban said in a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sgsm11054.doc.htm">message. “And let us build a better, more humane world for all people everywhere.”
Twenty years ago today, the Convention against Torture went into force, “yet even after two decades, this instrument falls well short of universal ratification,” he observed, urging all countries who have yet to do so to join both the treaty and its Optional Protocol.
The pact currently has 174 States parties. Comoros, the Dominican Republic, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, India, Nauru, Sao Tome and Principe and Sudan have all signed but not ratified the pact.
Other countries that are not party to the Convention include Angola, Bahamas, Barbados, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, the Central African Republic, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Fiji, Grenada, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, the United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, Vanuatu, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe.
Mr. Ban also lauded the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which he characterized as “another milestone in the struggle to eliminate torture.”
Signing on to this new treaty which opened for signature this past year “will prove an unequivocal expression of the international community’s determination to address not only torture but also its most egregious enabling conditions,” the Secretary-General noted.
He voiced his solidarity with those who have suffered as a result of torture, thanking the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture for its efforts.
Echoing Mr. Ban’s call for universal ratification of the Convention against Torture, other UN experts, led by High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, issued a joint <"http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/ABD6E1D919C7FF87C1257306003819D1?opendocument">statement condemning the use of torture.
On this Day, “we pay tribute to all Governments, civil society organizations and individuals engaged in activities aimed at preventing torture, punishing it and ensuring that all victims obtain redress and have an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation, including the means for full rehabilitation as possible,” the group said.
They also expressed their appreciation for the work of the UN Voluntary Fund for Torture Victims, appealing to all States, “in particular those which have been found to be responsible for widespread or systematic practices of torture,” to contribute.
Citing the “strong links” between torture and enforced disappearances, the statement also extolled the new International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforce Disappearances which “brings hope to many who have despaired of the fate of their loved ones.”
The group voiced “grave” concern that some States have ignored the UN Committee against Torture’s requests to hold off on departing or removing individuals to countries where they could potentially be tortured.
They also voiced concern regarding the use of the death penalty, as those on death row and those who have been executed as well as their families are themselves torture victims, under certain circumstances, the statement said.
“Irrespective of whether the death penalty is considered lawful or not under international law, many issues regarding its application may be contrary to international norms against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” the group said, calling on States to halt the use of the death penalty.
In addition to Ms. Arbour, the statement was endorsed by the UN Committee against Torture, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund.
2007-06-26 00:00:00.000
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Today, June 26th, is the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, and what follows are some statements, by the World Organization Against Torture and the Asian Commission for Human Rights on the use of torture in several countries.
There isn't much I can say about torture that hasn't been said a thousand times before by writers much more eloquent than I. Its widespread use, its enduring consequences on its victims, the pure lack of effectiveness of it as an interrogation technique are all well covered topics. But permit me a few words, an expression of outrage if you will, at the continual posture of the US government that torture is OK. In the past, throughout the world, torture has been utilized in secret - an open secret, perhaps, but the usual way for authorities to deal with accusations of torture was to deny them, not excuse them or attempt to legalize them. The exception, of course, was Israel which came out with the doctrine of "moderate physical pressure," basically a series of torture techniques that they claimed were not severe enough to constitute real torture. The UN Committee Against Torture disagreed. The Americans, though, were eager to borrow their definition - just as they borrowed the concept of "unlawful combatants" to deny prisoners their rights under the Geneva Conventions - and have since been arguing that torture *is* legal as long as we call it by another name (though even that is not totally necessary), and impose it on "enemy combatants". There is little doubt by now, that torture has been used (and perhaps is being used as we speak) at Guantanamo. It's also well known that it's used at the secret CIA detention centers and by American allies on people picked up by the Americans on suspicions of anything. There have been quite a few survivors who've told the tales.
What amazes me is the lack of outrage by the US population on these matters. They torture people in our name, we tsk-tsk and look the other way. Perhaps privately we even approve - it's easy to dehumanize someone by calling them a "terrorist" and if an innocent person was caught in the web, well "too bad". Even people who disapprove of the practice are not flooding their representatives with calls and letters demanding that the practice cease. I'm guilty of this just as well - I don't always call, I don't always demand. But perhaps today we could call our congresspeople or parlamentarians and demand an end to use of torture and tolerance of torture by our states.
As I said, this is just an expression of outrage, I have no wisdom to share other than keeping fighting the good fight.
Anyway, here are brief notes on Malaysia, Georgia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, The Philippines and Asia in general
MALAYSIA: A CALL UPON THE AUTHORITIES TO SIGN, RATIFY AND IMPLEMENT UNCAT AND OPCAT
On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) call on the government of Malaysia to show its commitment to abolish torture and other forms of ill-treatment by signing, ratifying and implementing the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) as well as the Optional Protocol to this Convention (OPCAT).
Geneva, Kuala Lumpur, 26 June 2007 – Reports of acts of torture and ill-treatment remain widespread in Malaysia, especially against individuals detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Moreover, undocumented migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are subjected to harsh punishment upon conviction of illegal entry into the country or overstaying under the Immigration Act.
In February 2004, 31 ISA detainees who were alleged as terrorist of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) and held at the Kamunting detention camp, accused the police of applying 59 forms of mental and physical torture, among them round-the-clock interrogation depriving detainees of sleep, strip naked during interrogation, forced to urinate in a bottle, forced to drink spittle of interrogators, beard shaved and burned, ordered to make tea, massage the interrogators, threat to arrest their family members, kicked and beaten up etc.
In an on going civil suit of a detainee against the government, Malek Hussein told that he was stripped naked, kicked and beaten-up, forced fed dirty and stinking water and subjected to sexual abuse.
These cases are only tips of the iceberg. While the government denies any such acts, it remains very difficult for victims of torture to prove the acts, especially while in detention.
The ISA of 1960 originally enacted to succeed emergency laws aimed at combating the communist insurgency during the 1940s and 1950s, has since then been used against those who commit acts deemed to be “prejudicial to the security of Malaysia”, or threatening to the “maintenance of essential services” or “economic life”. The government determines which acts fall into these categories and, using a strained interpretation of the legislation, has detained scores of individuals under the ISA, among which prisoners of conscience, trade unionists, teachers, religious activist and community workers. Under the ISA, detainees are subject to an initial 60-day detention period in special police holding centres, allegedly for the purpose of investigation and no judicial order is required for such detentions.
With regard to undocumented migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, under the Immigration Act of Malaysia, all foreigners without valid travel or working documents are treated as “illegal immigrants”, irrespectively of whether they are refugees, asylum seekers or how a documented migrant worker became undocumented due to unscrupulous recruitment agencies or abusive employers. In 2002, Malaysian government further amended the Immigration Act and introduced harsh punishment on convicted undocumented persons, which included whipping up to six strokes of the rotan (cane) that leave scars forever on the buttocks of the person.
The failure of Malaysia in ratifying the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Punishment and its Optional Protocol further reveals that the culture of torture and impunity is tolerated by the government despite it being a member of the UN Human Rights Council.
OMCT and SUARAM are very much concern with regard to these continued reports and the insufficient guarantees and actions undertaken by the authorities therein. On the occasion of the 26th June, both organisations call on Malaysia to show its commitment to abolish torture and other forms of ill-treatment by signing, ratifying and implementing the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment as well as the Optional Protocol to this Convention and by taking all necessary steps to guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
For inquiry, please contact:
Alexandra Kossin, Programme Manager, Urgent Campaigns Programme, World Organization Against Torture, (OMCT), 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, Geneva, Switzerland, tel: +41 22 8094939, fax: +41 22 8094929, email: ak@omct.org
Yap Swee Seng, Executive Director of Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, tel: +60 3 77843525, fax: +60 3 77843526, email: ssyap2001@yahoo.com
Georgia: The lack of reparation for torture survivors and the lack of appropriate investigations of torture
On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and Human Rights Information and Documentation Center (HRIDC) call on the government to consider adopting specific legislation in respect of compensation, reparation and restitution.
Geneva, Tbilisi, 26 June 2007 – In May 2006, OMCT and HRIDC have submitted jointly with Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) and The Public Health and Medicine Development Fund of Georgia (PHMDFG) a report on human rights violations in Georgia to the UN Committee against Torture (CAT)[1]. In this report, the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials has been highlighted as one of the most serious problems in Georgia and one of the main causes of torture and ill-treatment.
However, the lack of appropriate investigations into allegations of torture and ill-treatment and prosecutions thereon has revealed to be a major obstacle in the fight against impunity. Moreover, whilst many victims have refrained from identifying their perpetrators of fear of retaliation, victims who dare lodge complaint against their perpetrator often lack adequate guarantees in terms of reparation and compensation.
While the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) contain provisions regarding the right to compensation for victims (article 42 (9) of the Constitution, article 39, article 33(4) of the CPC), there is no explicit law that provides for reparations. In this regard the CAT has recommended that Georgia should consider adopting specific legislation in respect of compensation, reparation and restitution, and that in the meantime, practical measures be taken to provide redress and fair and adequate compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible[2].
On the occasion of 26th June, OMCT and HRIDC call on the Georgian government to fully implement the CAT concluding observations. Georgia should take firm measures to eradicate all forms of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials, and ensure prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment, prosecute and punish perpetrators, and provide effective remedies to the victims. In this respect, OMCT and HRIDC call on the authorities to adopt a specific legislation in respect of compensation, reparation and restitution for victims.
For inquiry, please contact:
OMCT - Alexandra Kossin, tel: +41 22 8094939, email: ak@omct.org
HRIDC - Ucha Nanuashvili, Executive Director, tel: (+995 32) 99 04 02, email: hridc@hridc.org
THAILAND: Licence to torture must be revoked
In recent months, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has heard of more and more cases of torture by state officials in Thailand. The majority of these cases are from the south and northeast. The fact that the two regions are at the opposite ends of the country and yet the practices bear many resemblances indicates that state policies encouraging violence and abuse from the centre are the main cause of widespread torture.
On 11 April 2007 Sukri Ar-dam, a 23-year-old teacher, was arrested at a police checkpoint in Pattani province under special powers to deal with the ongoing conflict in the south. He was held at the Inkayuthiborharnin army camp for more than seven days without charge. Sukri was accused of being involved in the beheading of a villager in Napradoo subdistrict on 8 February 2007. When he denied this--according to his alibi, he was teaching at the local Islamic school--the soldiers allegedly tortured him to force a confession. On April 26, a member of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and his team went to visit the camp. Sukri testified that he was tortured while in custody by persons who were not in uniform. He was taken to an inquiry room on April 11, where he was kicked, assaulted and strangled by a well-built man. He was then transferred to another inquiry room, where seven to eight men took turns to torture him. He was kicked in all parts of his body, and the perpetrators flicked his genitalia. Sukri was also forced to take off his underwear and put it on his head. The torture lasted for about two to three hours, until he was unconscious. The fact-finding team also observed scars and severe injuries on his knees, back and mouth. On May 1 the police applied to the court to extend his detention under the emergency regulations.
Similarly, Muhamud Arming Usoh was taken by soldiers from near his home on 30 October 2006 as he returned from work at a rubber plantation. In an unidentified army camp, the soldiers allegedly kicked him and hit him in the face and over the head with a steel bar; burnt cigarettes onto his neck, chest, ear and genitals; and smashed beer bottles across his knees. He was then allegedly chained to a dog for the night, before being taken to a bigger camp the next day. After the week was up, he was handed to the police and charged with murder and firearms offences.
Meanwhile, the AHRC has to date documented more than 24 cases of torture, disappearance and extrajudicial killing in Kalasin province, north eastern Thailand, in the aftermath of the 2003 "war on drugs" in which over 2500 persons were killed. There the police are the alleged perpetrators, but their patterns of torture are similar to those of the security forces in the south. And like those in the south, no alleged perpetrator is yet to be charged with any offence. In fact, they are all still serving at their posts, and have in some cases been promoted.
Torture happens everywhere in Thailand, not only in the south or other areas of intense conflict. It is routinely used in ordinary criminal cases, such as those in Kalasin. The type of torture inflicted is often extreme: electrocution and abuse of the genitals are frequently reported. The pattern of very harsh torture suggests a mentality among police and state security officers that extremely cruel and barbaric treatment of persons in their custody is completely acceptable.
Torture perpetrators have little fear of repercussions. Not only are there no clear policy guidelines to eliminate torture; on the contrary, it is tacitly--and sometimes openly--approved as a part of investigation. Nor is there any law under which torture perpetrators can be punished, or avenue for complaints, despite years of promises by the authorities in Thailand that they would pave the way for such measures. Neither has Thailand yet ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, again despite many written and oral assurances that it would do so imminently.
Throughout Thailand, torture is used systematically to curtail civil liberties, and thus further inhibits restoration of political stability in the country at a time of great confusion and difficulty. Although the current regime has paid lip-service to police reforms, such promises are hollow without open and serious recognition of the scale of torture in and around police stations and army camps, and a programme of meaningful institutional reform to address its causes and consequences.
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the UN International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture, June 26, 2007
SRI LANKA: The situation of torture worsens in 2007
On the International day for the elimination of torture the special consideration of the extremely harsh conditions prevailing in Sri Lanka relating to the observance of human rights needs to be stressed. Abductions, forced disappearances, killing of persons after arrest, torture and other gross abuses of human rights are accompanied by the failure of the country’s policing system, the prosecution system under the Attorney General's Department and the judicial system. This means that while violations of human rights are increasing, there are no legal mechanisms within the country capable of ending such violations, or even bringing them under some form of control. The agencies of the legal system, in fact, not only aid and abet, but contribute enormously, to the present situation.
It is no wonder that an international survey done by Fund for Peace has, for the second consequent year, named Sri Lanka among the world’s failed states. Among the criterion that is used by this group is the criminalization or de-legitimatization of the state, the progressive deterioration of public services, suspension or arbitrary application of the rule of law and widespread violations of human rights, the security apparatus acting as a “state within a state,” the massive movement of refugees or internally displaced persons creating complex humanitarian emergencies and chronic and sustained human flight. Perhaps what should be added to this list is the visible absence of any political leadership that is capable or willing to deal with the situation and to turn it around. In fact, the ruling regime is making things worse, as one of the regime’s former colleagues, who opted to sit with the opposition, terms it a “police state.”
The specter of an exceptional collapse of the rule of law leading to the extraordinary collapse of the political system is what the people are experiencing in Sri Lanka.
In this background, last year saw a worsening of the situation regarding the use of torture in Sri Lanka. In previous years there were certain measures which were taken with a view to bring the situation under control. The most important of those measures was the adoption of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which provided for the creation of a Constitutional Council and several commissions to “stop the progressive deterioration of the public service.” This has been abandoned by the present regime and recourse to court by some concerned groups to get the 17th Amendment back into operation failed as the court held that they had no power to progressively interpret the presidential immunity granted through the Constitution. The constitutional provisions relating to the 17th Amendment specifically meant to stop the progressive deterioration of the public services were considered less important than the constitutional provisions relating to presidential immunity.
A further measure taken in previous years to deal with torture was to initiate prosecutions under the CAT Act, Act No. 22 of 1994. It is claimed that there are over 60 such cases before High Courts in the country. However, prosecutions in these cases suffer from some inherent defects in the legal system; the delays in adjudication in courts; the absence of witness protection and a dualist mentality that is prevailing within the prosecutor’s office, that is the Attorney General's Department, have virtually defeated the possibility of effective prosecutions, capable of acting as a deterrence against the use of torture by the police. The result has been the continuous use of torture in almost all police stations on a routine basis despite of such prosecutions.
The colossal crisis of lawlessness that the country is facing has been manifested in many family killings and a glaring example of this is the Delgoda family massacre. The complete alienation of people from the police as well as the judicial system is resulting in various forms of cruelties that people perpetuate on each other as a way of dealing with their grievances. (See for details – Sri Lanka: The Delgoda Family Massacre and Confronting Lawlessness http://www.ahrchk.net/pub/mainfile.php/delgoda/.
It is sad to observe that there is nothing within the political programmes or legal strategies in the country at the moment to prevent this situation from becoming even worse.
The prevention of torture day should be a reminder to all concerned persons in Sri Lanka and elsewhere that whatever may happen to turn this situation around can only happen through internal and external pressure. It is the obligation of everyone to exert every possible influence on the government and the opposition to take up the following measures:
• Implement the provisions of the 17th Amendment forthwith;
• Implement the requests made by the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) immediately;
• Seek the help of the international community to deal with the widespread lawlessness and the monitoring of human rights in the country.
CAMBODIA: More effective measures are required to end torture
Cambodia acceded to the Convention against (CAT) in 1992. Its criminal law, adopted in the same year, has succinctly criminalised torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of detainees and punishes any public agent who violates this right with one to five years in prison.
Torture and other forms of ill-treatment have declined since then, but they are still a practice against detainees, especially those in police custody. Police often rely on torture to extract confessions. According to a study, in the Municipal Court of Phnom Penh from October 2005 to September 2006, 17 percent of defendants claimed to have been tortured to make a confession, but the court did not take their claims seriously. Public agents have enjoyed impunity for the crimes of torture, except in mid-2006 when a number of police officers were sentenced to prison for the death of a woman in their custody.
Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees will continue despite the fact that Cambodia ratified the optional protocol to CAT, or OPCAT, early this year. The Cambodian government and Parliament have continued to condone these violent state-sanctioned crimes when they adopted the code of criminal procedure after that ratification. In this code, they have failed to guarantee and protect the rights of suspects in police custody to have access to the legal counsel of their choosing immediately from the time of their arrest, to have the presence of counsel during their interrogation by the police and not to incriminate themselves by ensuring their right to remain silent. Furthermore, suspects are denied the right to inform their family of their arrest and place of detention and to have their family visit them. They also are denied the right to undergo medical examinations while in police detention.
In the same code, the Cambodian government and Parliament have also failed to make it mandatory for prosecutors and investigating judges to examine the physical and psychological state of suspects or accused persons when the police bring these people before them and to act upon any suspicion of torture or other ill-treatment. Prosecutors are not given power to make regular visits to places of detention within their respective jurisdictions, and no rules and procedures are laid down for the questioning of suspects and the taking of statements.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the Cambodian government and Parliament to make up for their failures and end torture and other ill-treatment. They must adopt an additional law on the measures listed above that have been neglected in the new code. They must also honour their other obligations under CAT and OPCAT by enacting a law on the crimes of torture and other ill-treatment, including physical, mental or psychological and pharmacological torture, and a law on national preventive mechanisms as stipulated in OPCAT.
See also www.prevent-torture.net
BANGLADESH: State urged to make torture a punishable crime in compliance with the UN Convention against Torture
Bangladesh has been a sitting member of the UN Human Rights Council since 9 May 2006, and has passed more than a year in the world’s top human rights forum. Before being elected to the Council Bangladesh placed its candidature among an overcrowded list of voluntary pledges. The country affirmed its “deep commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights of all of its citizens.”
The UN Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CAT) was ratified by the Bangladesh government in October 1998 reserving the article 14 paragraph 1 of it, which states that “Each State Party shall ensure in its legal system that the victim of an act of torture obtains redress and has an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. In the event of the death of the victim as a result of an act of torture, his dependants shall be entitled to compensation.” While ratifying the CAT Bangladesh declared that it “will apply article 14 para 1 in consonance with the existing laws and legislation in the country.”
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) recalls these events again on the occasion of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of torture. On one hand the Bangladesh government promises to implement the international instruments in the domestic arena. Unfortunately, on the other, in reality, violations of human rights, particularly, torture remains rampant in the country.
Torture is an integral part of the policing and the law-enforcement system, in all parts of the law-enforcing agencies and the military, paramilitary and security forces for persons both in custody and otherwise. Death due to torture at the hands of the law-enforcers is a regular phenomenon in the country. Torture is used as a method of extracting money and confessions from the detainees. The term, ‘interrogation’ in police remand, the Joint Interrogation Cell and “Task Force of Interrogation” as part of criminal investigation is synonymous with torture. Passing an hour in the custody of these forces without experiencing torture, in various forms, is considered as next to a miracle. Now, in the ongoing state of emergency, according to local human rights groups, around 200,0000 people have been arrested and detained within a period of only six months; and of course, there are allegations of torture in almost all cases as well as reports of around one hundred custodial deaths.
The consequences of torture which are visible all around indicate the very harsh methods being used. Persons who are once arrested by the police or any other forces, are ill treated throughout the duration of their arrest in almost all cases. It is common that in custody that people are tortured if they fail to pay bribes to escape the brutality. Payment of inadequate bribes is reasons in itself for torture which often results in serious physical injuries. Often, failure to pay the demanded amount of money to the police will also add one or a number of fabricated charges against the person for which he or she and the family will be required to appear before the courts for years; the investigations will also be done by the same police officer or a colleague with a view to ruin the victims.
Victims of torture have no place to go. The police stations of the country do not register the complaints of torture at the hands of other law-enforcers which their offices are responsible and legally obliged to record. As a last option the people go to the Magistrate’s Courts and explore the dark avenues of the judiciary, which is under the complete control of the government. The system is the same. A police officer from among the perpetrators will be assigned for the investigation of the case in order to ensure the complaint appears as a “false allegation” against “reputed officers of the government”. In the event that any court is kind enough to order a judicial probe it will result in nothing but a farcical report-with the ultimate intention of saving the perpetrator, as the magistrates and the police are colleagues to each other. In this manner the doors to seek justice are closed for the victims of torture. This series of bitter experiences, on one hand brings about destruction of faith in the justice system and, on the other the victims and their family become financially exhausted by the burden of unprepared expenditure. They are socially stigmatised for the brutal humiliation at the hands of the law-enforcers and for the unavailability of justice. The victims of torture become physically and psychologically handicapped in most cases, and their families as well as themselves become isolated from society as the people are reluctant to mix with them fearing further suffering in their respective lives.
The whole nation suffers from the grave consequences of torture; it looses creativity, spontaneousness, frankness and openness. Nobody sees the law-enforcers as an assisting force to uphold the law but rather as perpetrators of gross human rights abuses. The people’s faith in the judicial system has disappeared. As a result, people avoid the police and the courts in order to avoid further harassment by the “licensed terrorists” of the country as the police are known.
The AHRC has learned of these matters through a large number of cases documented by the human rights groups in Bangladesh. Sadly, despite the diabolical situation the authorities of Bangladesh do not care about the problems. They only promise and pledge rather than taking any effecting measures to address the human rights abuse issues; particularly, to support the victims of torture and inhuman treatment.
Nine years are passing now since Bangladesh ratified the CAT, but still reservation is imposed on the article 14 para 1 of the Convention; meaning that the government does not want to ensure the right to compensation and adequate medical treatment for the victims of torture. The authorities never want to punish the perpetrators of torture; they have not yet made any legislation criminalizing torture in compliance with the CAT although the government promised to do so a long time back. Instead, the culture of impunity to the perpetrators has been well established by a number of laws and the practice as well; the Indemnity Act-2003, which was made to ensure impunity to the armed forces and the police for killing, torture, arbitrary arrests and detention during the Operation Clean Heart in the late 2002 and early 2003, is still in effect despite the existing barriers of section 197 and 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for trying the perpetrators.
The culture of ruining the victims and rewarding the perpetrators must be stopped now. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the authorities of Bangladesh to make torture a crime punishable in compliance with the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) immediately. The UN Human Rights Council, where Bangladesh has been a member for three years, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights must ask the Bangladeshi authorities how long it will take the country to criminalize torture in the domestic legislation. The victims of torture must have access to justice including the right to compensation for torture perpetrated upon them. The authorities should feel ashamed to see the extreme inconsistency between their pledges and practices regarding the abuses of human rights issues and take the necessary action.
PAKISTAN: Even the Chief Justice of Pakistan is not spared from torture
Pakistan is a country where even Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the apex court, is not spared physical and mental torture by the country’s law enforcement agencies. Mr. Iftekhar Choudhary, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, was abused and tortured twice by law enforcement agencies, once in Islamabad (capital of Pakistan) and once in Karachi (capital of Sindh province). After Chief Justice Mr. Iftekhar Choudhary was summoned to Army House to appear before President General Musharraf, he was held in detention for five hours on March 9, 2007, where he went through severe mental torture, while five Generals were threatening and pressurizing him to resign. Subsequently, his case (Reference) was referred to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on March 13, 2007, by President General Musharraf. He was taken into custody by the Islamabad police as he was appearing before court and he was manhandled. He was slapped, he was snatched by his hair and thrown brutally into a police van before several people.
Torture in custody is very widespread in Pakistan, as it is held that by means of torture the writ of the state/government is sought to be maintained. Reported torture cases increased from the number of 1000 in the year 2005 to a number of 1319 in the year 2006. This figure only involves the cases reported, whereas there are several additional cases that remain unrevealed due to the victims’ fear. During the first half of 2007, the practice of torture in custody was getting worse as several lawyers and journalists were also exposed to severe torture by police and army intelligence agencies.
Pakistan is enjoying its second year as the member of the United Nation’s Human Rights Council and not one member of the Human Rights Council has objected to the Pakistani membership so far, despite its evidently culpable record of human rights violations, particularly despite its continuously increasing degree of torture in custody. The court proceedings made it obvious that Intelligence Agencies of the armed forces of Pakistan are involved in practicing torture in their camps even in the major cities. In addition to that, several hundreds of people have disappeared following their arrests, and most of them were severely tortured by law enforcement agencies. Ordinary people were arrested on charges of being “terrorists” and consequently disappeared, which has become a common phenomenon after 9/11. Those who somehow managed to get away from the torture camps of armed forces gave their testimonies before courts regarding the way they were tortured and threatened by military personnel during their captivity. These people confirmed that they were threatened by the military to be killed in case they had revealed any details of their captivity. Some have been indeed killed and some have disappeared.
Case of castration
A 24 year old man, Mr. Hazoor Buksh Malik, who is a cook by profession, was arrested on charges of not keeping national identity card with him. Subsequently he was ruthlessly tortured in police custody at the Market police station in Larkana, Sindh province, in order to make him pay an enormous amount as a precondition for his release. On January 26,2007, four police officers including the station’s head officer (SHO) Mr. Muhammad Khan Tunio, approached the man in custody along with his three staff in an obviously drunken state and cut off the victim’s penis by a broken tea cup. It did take a long time to file a case of torture and attempted murder against the perpetrators. However the perpetrators have still not been arrested as they are enjoying the protection of the federal minister for anti narcotics. The minister indeed constitutes the major hindrance in providing adequate medical treatment to the affected victim. His bleeding has not stopped for 5 months, and as a consequence of his deteriorated health condition, the victim has no means of earnings to support himself. Please go to our website; www.ahrchk.net and see the AHRC’s urgent appeals UA-032-2007, UP-021-2007, UP-045-2007, AHRC-OL-012-2007, AS-034-2007.
Police allegedly poisoned a young man through anus
Mr. Mohammad Ali Mallah is a 25-year-old man who was arrested along with his younger brother Mr. Waheed Mallah by the Pir Jo Goth police, Khaipur city, Sindh province, on suspicion of being allegedly involved in the stealing of a motorcycle on 12 January 2007. The police action was based on a complaint lodged by Mr. Qadeer Memon the Nazim of Union Council No. 1 in Kingri town, against four alleged perpetrators of the motorcycle theft case including these two brothers .Later on 19 January, he withdrew the case against the above mentioned brothers as it was an obvious misunderstanding to accuse them with the crime.
Regardless of that, Mr. Abdul Sami Veser, the Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) in-charge of the Pir Jo Goth police station, refused to release the two men unless they paid him Rs. 50,000 (USD 833). As a means to extort the demanded sum and to be able to fabricate false charges against them, the ASI started torturing Mr. Mohammad Ali Mallah and his brother Mr. Waheed Mallah in the police lock-up and forced them to confess to the theft of the motorcycle.
On the night of January 24 and during the early hours of January 25, Mr. Mohammad Ali Mallah was severely tortured by the ASI. During the torture police had him hanging from the ceiling while he was brutally beaten. After that he was hung up upside down and was continued to be tortured. This dreadful method of torture was repeated on and on. It is alleged that the above mentioned ASI forced the victim to drink lime and also forced the liquid into his anus. Mr. Mohammad Ali Mallah, was transported to the Civil Hospital of Khairpur District in an unconscious condition with his hands still cuffed during the early hours of 25th January. He remained unconscious for four days. This incident was reported by various local newspapers and people of the neighbourhood protested strongly against this blatant police brutality of an innocent young man.
Followingly the high officials of Sindh police pressured the victim and his family to withdraw the part of his statement detailing how lime water was poured into his anus, otherwise the entire family was threatened to face serious consequences, even including the women of his family. Accordingly the family was forced to take back their statement. Please go to the AHRC website; see urgent appeal UA-038-2007: PAKISTAN: Police allegedly poisoned a young man through anus.
Man tortured to death in jail
A young man Mr. Ali Nawaz Khan was allegedly tortured to death on 3 February 2007, in the Malir central jail in Karachi, Sindh Province, Pakistan. He was possibly tortured as a consequence of failing to bribe the jail officers. The victim and his two other friends had been previously illegally arrested by the Gadap police with the aim of extracting money. They were later charged in a forged case after failing to pay the demanded bribe money. It is also reported that the day before the victim's death, his family was allegedly threatened by the jail officers, that unless they pay the required bribe, they would receive the dead body of the victim. While the victim's death was attributed to kidney failure by the official doctors, the family found numerous torture marks all over the victim's body. Shockingly, despite the promise of the Sindh provincial government to suspend the Superintendent of the jail (main suspect) being responsible for the victim’s death, he was in fact awarded a new position in the Ministry of Interior of Sindh provincial government, and was transferred to another city for his new job. Please see AHRC urgent appeal. Please see UA-046-2007: PAKISTAN: Three men allegedly tortured by the police; one man tortured to death in jail.
Testimonies of persons who were recovered after disappearance by the military.
Disappearances after arrests by the law enforcement agencies particularly by the military intelligence agencies, is another big issue of the country. Since 2001, after the military operations in Balochistan province, the Baloch nationalist were main target of disappearances. In NWFP province, after 9/11 of 2001, people are on the charges of terrorism and they simply disappeared, sometimes their tortured bodies were found in nearby places of their neighborhoods. More than 4000 people are disappeared. Those who were released after their incommunicado position they told that they were severely tortured and they saw so many people in the military camps in different cities of Pakistan.
1- Mr. Abid Raza Zaidi (aged 23), a PhD student of University of Karachi has been missing since he was arrested by the elite force, the special force on terrorism, on 4 October 2006 in Lahore, the capital city of Punjab province, Pakistan. To this date he has not been produced before any court of law. This is his second arrest by the special force. Before his arrest and his subsequent disappearance, Mr. Zaidi attended a two day conference on "disappearances and torture" organised jointly by Amnesty International and a local organization called Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which was held from 30 September to 1 October 2006 at Islamabad. During the conference he narrated the whole story of his first arrest, his illegal detention and his torture in relation to a bombing case on 11 April 2006 of Nishter Park, Karachi, Sindh province. He was arrested on 26 April 2006 and disappeared along with other 12 persons of the Shia sect of Islam. He was released on 18 August 2006 after being held illegally detained for 110 days in various military torture camps. During this period, he was never produced before any court of law. To learn more about the details of the victim's first arrest, please see our previous appeal: Please see UA-171-2006, and UP-191-2006.
2- Mr. Salim Baloch was arrested for the first time on 9 March 2006 and his whereabouts had been unknown until he was released on 14 December 2006. Following his release on December 19 he addressed a press conference at the Karachi Press Club where he gave details on how he was kidnapped and tortured in different military cells by several army personnel. The High Court disposed off his habeas corpus case on the basis that his case was no longer valid due to his prior release. Neither ordered the court an inquiry into his torture and illegal detention conducted by the army, nor did it take the required subsequent actions to locate the other disappeared persons, who still remained detained in the military torture cells of Rawal Pindi. To see details of this matter, please see UA-413-2006, and UP-001-2007
Following his statement before court he was again arrested on 31 December 2006, when representatives of the secret agencies allegedly approached Mr. Salim Baloch with a red Toyota Corolla vehicle without registration number plate. After that they forced him into the vehicle and shortly he was transferred into a white coloured Vtx Cultus with the registration number of 7389 at around 6:30am. His whereabouts are still unknown. His eyes were damaged by torture and he was not able to walk for more than 5 minutes.
Methods of torture in custody:
In order to obtain information, forced confession and/or money from the detainees Police routinely resorts to the use of various methods of torture. Below here are some of the methods of torture commonly applied by police against detainees in custody:
- Beating or kicking the prisoner with bare hands or with wooden sticks called "danda";
- Beating the prisoner using a piece of reinforced leather called "chittar";
- Causing burn injuries with cigarette buts;
- Verbally abusing the victim using filthy language;
- Forcing the victim to lie on ice blocks while someone is standing on top of them
These are only some of the methods applied by Police. What is more, the military usually uses much more severe methods of torture, for example:
- They force detainees to remove all their clothing and they make them to dance naked before the officers for several hours;
- detainees are forced to do push-ups the whole night;
- They are hung from the roof ;
- They force detainees’ head under water for extremely long durations
- They put rats in detainees’ pants or pyjamas;
- They force detainees to listen to audio and video recordings of screaming of tortured victims on full volume
- They beat detainees with iron rods;
- They keep detainees blind-folded for several days;
- They stitch-up the lips of detainees;
- They do not allow detainees to go to the toilet;
- They apply excessive ways of beating and the use of abusive language.
Comments
These are some cases which indicate how law enforcement agencies including police violate the constitution, the legislations and all international norms. According to Article 14 of the Pakistani Constitution, sub article (a) it states that,
"No person shall be subjected to torture for the purpose of extracting evidences."
Furthermore, Pakistan is a signatory to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in which
Article 5 states that, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Nonetheless by being a member of the Human Rights Council of UN, Pakistan the military government of Pakistan believes that it can enjoy impunity from the international community and can freely continue on with the violation of the human rights of its citizens.
Regrettably, Pakistan has failed to sign any of the major human rights covenants or protocols of the United Nations including Covenant against Torture (CAT ). It only signed CEDAW.
Therefore we request the United Nations to withdraw the membership of Pakistan on the above detailed grounds or to put pressure on the government of Pakistan to at least sign ICCPR, CAT and the other significant international protocols.
INDIA: Widespread use of custodial torture is a ticking time bomb
The Prime Minister of India declared in a public speech early this year that India would soon ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Since then, nothing has been heard about India’s preparation to ratify this convention.
Instances of custodial torture in the meanwhile are reported from all over the country. Most of these cases have several common characters. In most cases the victims were persons arrested on mere suspicion. The arrest is often followed by prolonged periods of illegal detention during which the detainees are tortured as part of questioning. The detainee is finally produced in the court often framed with false charges.
Cases of alleged encounter killing and disappearances are also reported in alarming numbers from India. But for a few cases that were taken up by the local media, the government did not care to investigate those cases where the law enforcement agents were allegedly engaged in brutal torture.
In India, the government tolerates the misuse of authority by the law enforcement agencies. This is because the government, often the political parties that form governments in India, require the law enforcement agencies to be exploited according to their whims. For example, the recent cases of custodial killings reported from the state of Gujarat shows a consistent and alarming pattern of tolerance of the use of torture by the government and promotion of it as if it is an essential element of law enforcement and investigation of crime. Custodial torture and encounter killings -- often known as extra-judicial executions -- is closely related.
In Gujarat, the interrogation centres -- often torture chambers -- of the state police are functioning in full public view. The suspects are brought in, kept in illegal detention and tortured as part of questioning and later killed and declared as killed in encounter. This procedure is public knowledge, yet no one dared to challenge it. Officers, right from the top are involved in this endeavour.
In a proceeding in the Supreme Court regarding this, the state government admitted in court that it was aware of the existence of the interrogation and torture centres. The government also admitted that in several cases the officers might have also killed the witnesses of arrest and detention in order to avoid questions at a later stage. The Gujarat experience, while being a shocking revelation of the state of policing in that state is also the proof that the public could be forced to silence, if the state so requires, by imparting fear.
Interrogation centers in India are run in the cover of prevention of terrorist activities. Interrogation centers are not limited to the state of Gujarat. In several other states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan the state governments run similar centres. In some states these centres are run in the name of anti-naxalite action.
In the state of Chhattisgarh for example, the naxalite and anti-naxalite activity has killed hundreds of innocent people. Use of brute force by the state and non-state actors irreparably destroys the social fabric. In Chhattisgarh thousands have been forcefully removed from their villages to camps set-up by the government or other private armed groups.
Large scale killing and imparting fear through brutal use of force has not reduced the anti-state violence in that state. The number of persons who have enrolled in the anti-state activities or are now empathizing with these groups in fact have increased. To counter this, the state has adopted a divide and rule policy by introducing a private armed militia called the Salwa Judum. The Salwa Judum is a group of armed civilians who are provided impunity to attack, injure and kill ordinary people on mere suspicion.
In addition to promoting private armed groups the state has also pressed into use questionable legislations like the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005. This statute is so loosely worded that anyone could be charged for a crime in this law. Many accepted legal norms in criminal law like non-retroactivity is negated in this statute. This law is worse than the infamous Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958.
Violence is used widely with impunity in the North-Eastern states. The state of Manipur in particular, is completely militarised. The paramilitary and the army detachments stationed in that state is notorious for the use of torture and violence as the only tool for investigation. Cases reported from Manipur, are mostly involving the armed forces, the Assam Rifles in particular.
Violence is the most commonly used tool for investigation of crimes in India. Investigation of cases often begin with a confession statement and ends with it. Though the method is considered as a worst form of crime investigation, it is widely practiced in India. This is because even as of today the concept of law and order in India is based on the principle of imparting fear. The state police and other divisions of the law enforcement agencies are some of the most ignored state government services.
Administrative neglect promoting the use of torture is misused by the police and other law enforcement agencies as an excuse for demanding bribe and for not doing their job according to the law. Continuing neglect by the government has also considerably reduced the morale of the law enforcement agencies. Rather than being considered as an essential state service police and other law enforcement agencies are viewed as state sponsored terror agencies mostly filled with criminals.
Widespread use of custodial torture in India is not the result of government neglect alone. It is also the result of the lack of seriousness in approaching this issue by the justice mechanisms in India. Even in the absence of specific laws preventing torture, the courts in India, particularly the Supreme Court, has ordered compensation to victims of torture. However the compensation awarded is much less and cannot also be treated as a form of punishment compared to the seriousness of the act. To punish a law enforcement officer who has engaged in torture, as of now, there is no law in India.
Torture is not a crime in India. To convict a law enforcement officer for torture, the act has to qualify all the requirements like any other crimes in the Indian Penal Code, 1890. To prove a crime, meeting all standards, to be punished under the Indian Penal Code, is difficult because of the absence of independent investigating agencies in India. The absence of an independent agency to investigate cases of custodial torture is exploited by the offenders since they know that even if a complaint is made regarding torture it would not be properly investigated.
The widespread use of custodial torture has taken its toll upon the law enforcement agencies in India and is reflected in the overall state of rule of law in India. As of today, the ordinary people have isolated themselves from the law enforcement agencies. The people do not trust the law enforcement agencies. The use of torture has also considerably reduced the morale of the law enforcement agencies. For example cases that are brought to a court based exclusively on the evidence gathered by use of torture often results in acquittal. The loss of morale of the law enforcement agencies is exploited by corrupt elements in the society who would like to use the local police as their militia, paid from the state exchequer.
Inspite of all these, the government of India or its state governments have no declared policy of non-tolerance to custodial violence. Instead of preventing the use of torture the attempt by the government is to provide further impunity to the law enforcement agencies by proposing changes in the procedural law. The legislative changes have not been implemented yet, but the proposal by the government is to implement these changes in the recent future.
To remove possible internal resistance in implementing these proposals the government has roped in several non-government organisations under the banner of the UNDP -- India office, in an allegedly consultative process on this issue in the name ‘Strengthened Access to Justice Programme’. Many organisations in India have inadvertently jointed this lopsided programme, currently executed through the Department of Justice.
The direction towards which India is headed as of now is imminent chaos and lawlessness. The widespread use of violence and the continuing neglect of the government to prevent it have also isolated the ordinary people from the government. In the remote villages of India government means the local police constable. The atrocities committed by these uniformed state agents create a fertile ground for anti-social and anti-state elements to propagate and advocate violence as a means of communication. This has also resulted in the loss of a middle ground for those who do not support violence.
For the central government in Delhi and the mutually opposing state administrations, governance is only an affair of five years. This congenital defect of myopic vision is a shocking feature of all governments in India and is reflected in their policies. A failed policing system and a justice mechanism that depends on such a police is what these governments covet for. Prevention of torture and reformation of law enforcement agencies is the last priority in these circumstances for any government.
As of today, various state governments in India and their law enforcement agencies have lost control of law and order within considerable parts of their jurisdictions – a backwash of erratic policies. The spread of anti-state activities covering considerable parts of India must be an alarming wakeup call for the government. This shocking situation of chaos in law and order is certainly the result of the failure of police as an institution in India.
Addiction to torture and use of violence is no means to address this.
Torture victims in the Philippines have suffered from the physical and mental pain inflicted on them by those who have mercilessly tortured them and have suffered a second time from the lack of a law criminalising torture. For years, torture victims in the country have been waiting for redress and a legal tool they can use to prosecute their torturers. Even filing complaints supported with substantial proof and medical evidence to support torture claims are later found to be a meaningless exercise by victims and their legal counsel. Because torture is not a criminal offence under the Philippines’ penal code, torture victims can file a complaint, but usually it makes little or no progress in the court system, if it even reaches the courts. It can even take prosecutors years—for instance, 11 years in one case—without resolving a complaint. Often those accused are able to retire or commit similar offences again and again without being held accountable for their violent actions.
It is a fact of life that the use of torture by the police and military as methods of criminal investigation and punishment is endemic in the country. What is shocking is the negligible effort to eradicate torture or the lack of legal remedies available to victims and their legal counsel to challenge these illegal practices employed by the security forces. While the authorities deny the prevalence of torture in the country, the reality is otherwise: torture is endemic and is commonly practiced in the Philippines. Often the burden to prove the use of torture rests with the victims themselves, not with those who violently abused them. Some public prosecutors have even argued that it is normal for suspects to claim they were tortured, thus, in effect, implying that anyone who makes such an accusation is not trustworthy.
What is more worrisome is that some prosecutors fail to comprehend the significance of having a law against torture. They do not find it necessary to enact such a law, arguing that the 1987 Constitution’s Bill of Rights already prohibits torture. This assertion is made even though they know that in order to give meaning to this constitutional provision it requires an enabling law that defines torture as a criminal act and provides adequate remedies. They likewise maintain that such a law would “overcriminalise” the offence instead of protecting the victim’s rights. There is consequently a negligible understanding by some public prosecutors of the absolute right against torture. This mentality is endemic, however, not only among prosecutors but also the public. Their understanding of torture is so flawed that it has subconsciously become an acceptable practice, a normal part of criminal investigations. Brutality and cruelty in police stations and military camps against any person suspected of committing a crime in their view deserve to be tortured. As a result of this attitude, the basic foundation of criminal justice—the presumption of innocence—is diluted and becomes irrelevant.
In recent times, allegations of torture against policemen have surfaced. For instance, in January, a man claimed to have been brutally tortured while in police custody at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Quezon City. The victim claimed he was electrocuted and deprived of sleep. Although his release was later ordered by the court, despite the gravity of his allegations, no known credible investigation or sanctions against those involved took place afterwards. Internal Affairs Services (IAS), a quasijudicial body of the PNP, is mandated to conduct automatic investigations of alleged human rights violations committed by the police, but there has been no known action taken in this case. Not only have the allegations of torture not been investigated, but the policemen have not been held accountable.
Justice for torture victims is absent even in cases in which the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has concluded in their investigation that the police tortured a suspect, such as the case of the “Abadilla Five”—five men who were tortured to confess to killing a senior police officer and sentenced to death. In the case of the “Abadilla Five,” the victims’ complaints have been pending for 11 years but have not yet even reached the court. Although the commission determined that the victims were tortured and recommended that charges be filed against the policemen who arrested and tortured them, no action has been taken. One of the police officers in the torture complaint, Senior Superintendent Bartolome Baluyot, was later accused of torturing other suspects in General Santos City—three years after his alleged involvement in the “Abadilla Five” case—and was able to retire from the police force. Six of the policemen in the torture complaint died before being prosecuted.
In this case, the Office of the Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices (Moleo), where the case is presently pending, has yet to resolve whether or not the policemen involved should be held for trial even though this complaint has been pending for 11 years, first with the Department of Justice (DoJ) and now with the Moleo. There is a likelihood that the case could suffer even further delays, for the ombudsman in charge of this case was replaced two months ago. Not only have the victims been denied redress due to the absence of laws and the non-prosecution of their perpetrators, they have also been denied speedy disposition of their case.
Thus, there is an unwillingness on the part of torture victims to pursue a case in court, not only because of the lack of a law against torture, but also due to excessive delays—the length of time and resources they have to expend to get redress and prosecute the perpetrators that, in the end, results in a meaningless and exhausting exercise for them. This reality reflects the near impossibility of obtaining remedies for torture victims. Moreover, the victims are forced to accept these harsh realities, and the government has continually failed to ensure that torture victims attain justice; the government, indeed, has ultimately neglected them.
The absence of a law against torture and remedies for torture victims, in essence, reflects tolerance for torture by all three branches of government. There is little apparent concern for the lack of accountability of the security forces that are accused of torture. Suspects consequently can be tortured with impunity. It also sends a strong message to victims that redress and prosecution of those responsible for torturing them is difficult—almost unachievable. When victims have the experience that their complaints are not taken seriously or they witness no progress in the court system, they come to believe that it is futile for them to complain. No complaint means no prosecution of their case and virtual acceptance and acquiescence for these illegal acts. This tragedy is entirely due to the lack of remedies and the inability of the government to protect and upheld its citizens’ constitutional rights.
The continued failure by the government to enact enabling laws against torture casts serious doubts on its ability to uphold the highest standards of human rights as a newly re-elected member of the U.N. Human Rights Council. It is inexcusable for a state party that signed and ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) to fail to ensure that domestic laws exist to give meaning to the provisions of CAT. The international community, including the people of the Philippines, must resist the continuing state-sanctioned violence against suspects in police stations and military camps and the absence of remedies for torture victims. To do otherwise is to tolerate the torture of Filipinos
ASIA: To eliminate torture police reform must be given a central place in the human rights concerns of Asia
"They heard the thud of wood on flesh. Boot on bone. On teeth. The muffled grunt when a stomach is kicked in. The muted crunch of skull on cement. The gurgle of blood on a man's breath when his lung is torn by the jagged end of a broken rib. Blue-lipped and dinner-plate-eyed, they watched, mesmerized by something that they sensed but didn't understand: the absence of caprice in what the policemen did. The abyss where anger should have been; the sober, steady brutality, the economy of it all."
-- Extract from "The God of Small Things", by Arundhati Roy
The International Day for the prevention of torture should serve as a reminder that in the following countries of Asia torture remains the primary mode of criminal investigations; they are: Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia, Pakistan, India, China, Vietnam and the Maldives. In all these countries, the image of the policeman is that of a tyrant and a torturer. In times of conflict the military also engage in extraordinary forms of torture; the police engage in torture in times of both peace and conflict.
The political establishments of these countries tolerate torture and often, directly approve of it. The fact of the ratification of the UN human rights treatises makes no difference to the actual business of using the police as an instrument of brutality. The gap between the ideals proclaimed in constitutions and by signatures to UN conventions and the day to day reality of the routine use of torture coexist. The legislature and even the judiciary of these countries have been unable to take a firm stand to reform and to modernize their police. Thus, in the practical operation of the legal system, torture is considered an indispensible instrument.
Sadly, those who stand as spokesmen and representatives of morality and ethics in these societies have failed to make any noticeable attempt to stand firmly against the use of torture. Their talk of love, compassion, brotherhood and sisterhood and loving kindness is not associated with abhorrence for the use of torture by their law enforcement agencies. Thus, the moral and ethical education of the young takes place in an environment in which torture is not considered an unacceptable practice. The mentalities of the young are shaped by the old who find no shame in allowing their law enforcement agencies to use torture and to humiliate human beings in the worst possible ways.
This compromised position of the political, legal and social leadership in these societies is rooted in a reluctance to touch on the issue of police reforms, in order to bring the policing of their societies into conformity with the modern aspirations of their own people. Resistance to modernity expresses itself in the sharpest way by the attempt to keep the policing system in a very primitive state. A search into the causes of such resistance to reform the police will reveal patterns of abuse of power and corruption in these societies. It is the police that provide the very backbone of the skeleton that supports the abuse of power and corruption. Torture is therefore a political product. The politics of abuse of power and corruption resist change into more rational forms of government, which are accountable to the people. The police are the guardians of those abusive and corrupt practices that the powerful people in these societies struggle hard to maintain.
The disapproval of torture is a common feature among the vast masses of these countries that are prevented from sharing the benefits of the natural resources of their lands. It is in this context that the common man sees the police as their enemy. On the other hand, the hardcore corrupt elements in these countries see the police as a friend. Democracy and rule of law, which are the aspirations of the common people cannot be realised due to the alliance among the abusers of power, the corrupt and the law enforcement agencies.
Under these circumstances, demands for the elimination of torture, whether they come from local or international groups, remain meaningless unless these are accompanied by an uncompromising call for police reforms. The elimination of torture and the modernization of the police are two sides of the same coin. As long as the police remain enemies of democracy and the rule of law, and friends of those who abuse power and are corrupt, torture will remain a very important ingredient of policing in Asian countries. To democratize a society its police must be democratized. To establish rule of law in a society, the police must be made to be law abiding. Law breakers by the night, who turn police stations into torture chambers, cannot by the day defend law and order or the moral values of society.
This brings the greatest challenge to the human rights community both local and global on the issue of the elimination of torture, which is one of the core aspects of the defense of human rights and without which, the concept of human rights is itself meaningless. Unless the human rights community makes police reforms one of the central pieces of their agenda, human rights will have little appeal to the populations of these countries. The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, the UN Human Rights Council, all UN treaty bodies and all international human rights organisations to make a very special attempt, on an urgent basis to bring police reform to the centre of their work for the protection and promotion of human rights in Asia. We also call upon all human rights groups in Asia and also all people who are concerned with the protection and promotion of human rights in their countries and in the region to expose the duality involved in the declarations made by their governments regarding the prevention of torture, and who, at the same time refuse to reform and modernize their policing systems.
The US administration is responding to allegation of torturing prisoners, by admitting the actions but claiming they are not torture. Torture is defined under the International Convention Against Torture as:
"any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession..."
The UN Committee Against Torture has already condemned the use of waterboarding as constituting torture or cruel or degrading treatment, and a violation of the Convention against Torture, to which the US is a part.
Waterboarding, called submarino in Spanish, is a common torture technique. The victim has their face introduced in water until he is almost close to drowning.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/15847911.htm
McClatchy News Wire
Wed, Oct. 25, 2006
Cheney confirms that detainees were subjected to water-boarding
By Jonathan S. Landay
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (MCT) - Vice President Dick Cheney has confirmed
that U.S. interrogators subjected captured senior al Qaida suspects
to a controversial interrogation technique called "water-boarding,"
which creates a sensation of drowning.
Cheney indicated that the Bush administration doesn't regard water-boarding
as torture and allows the CIA to use it. "It's a no-brainer for me," Cheney
said at one point in an interview.
Cheney's comments, in a White House interview on Tuesday with a conservative
radio talk show host, appeared to reflect the Bush administration's view that
the president has the constitutional power to do whatever he deems necessary
to fight terrorism.
The U.S. Army, senior Republican lawmakers, human rights experts and many
experts on the laws of war, however, consider water-boarding cruel, inhumane
and degrading treatment that's banned by U.S. law and by international treaties
that prohibit torture. Some intelligence professionals argue that it often
provides false or misleading information because many subjects will tell their
interrogators what they think they want to hear to make the water-boarding stop.
Republican Sens. John Warner of Virginia, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey
Graham of South Carolina have said that a law Bush signed last month prohibits
water-boarding. The three are the sponsors of the Military Commissions Act,
which authorized the administration to continue its interrogations of enemy
combatants.
Graham, a military lawyer who serves in the Air Force Reserve, reaffirmed
that view in an interview last week with McClatchy Newspapers.
"Water-boarding, in my opinion, would cause extreme physical and psychological
pain and suffering, and it very much could run afoul of the War Crimes Act,"
he said, referring to a 1996 law. "It could very much open people up to
prosecution under the War Crimes Act, as well as be a violation of the
Detainees Treatment Act."
A revised U.S. Army Field Manual published last month bans water-boarding
as "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment."
"There is a disconnect between the president and the vice president
and on the other side leading proponents from their own party and
leading experts on the laws of war," said Neal Sonnett, the chairman of
the American Bar Association's Task Force on Enemy Combatants.
The radio interview Tuesday was the first time that a senior
Bush administration official has confirmed that U.S. interrogators
used water-boarding against important al Qaida suspects, including Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged chief architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Mohammed was captured in Pakistan on March 1, 2003, and turned over to the CIA.
Water-boarding means holding a person's head under water or pouring water
on cloth or cellophane placed over the nose and mouth to simulate drowning
until the subject agrees to talk or confess.
In an interview on Tuesday, Scott Hennen of WDAY Radio in Fargo, N.D.,
told Cheney that listeners had asked him to "let the vice president know
that if it takes dunking a terrorist in water, we're all for it, if it
saves American lives."
"Again, this debate seems a little silly given the threat we face,
would you agree?" Hennen said.
"I do agree," Cheney replied, according to a transcript of the interview
released Wednesday. "And I think the terrorist threat, for example, with
respect to our ability to interrogate high-value detainees like Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed, that's been a very important tool that we've had to be
able to secure the nation."
Cheney added that Mohammed had provided "enormously valuable information
about how many (al Qaida members) there are, about how they plan, what their
training processes are and so forth. We've learned a lot. We need to be able
to continue that."
"Would you agree that a dunk in water is a no-brainer if it can save lives?"
asked Hennen.
"It's a no-brainer for me, but for a while there, I was criticized
as being the vice president 'for torture.' We don't torture. That's not
what we're involved in," Cheney replied. "We live up to our obligations
in international treaties that we're party to and so forth. But the fact is,
you can have a fairly robust interrogation program without torture, and we
need to be able to do that."
Lee Ann McBride, a spokeswoman for Cheney, denied that Cheney had confirmed
that U.S. interrogators used water-boarding or endorsed the technique.
"What the vice president was referring to was an interrogation program
without torture," she said. "The vice president never goes into what may or
may not be techniques or methods of questioning."
The interview transcript was posted on the White House Web site
( whitehouse.gov/vicepresident/ ).
CIA spokeswoman Michelle Neff said, "While we do not discuss specific
interrogation methods, the techniques we use have been reviewed by the
Department of Justice and are in keeping with our laws and treaty obligations.
We neither conduct nor condone torture."
/McClatchy correspondents James Rosen and Marisa Taylor contributed to
this report./
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