Kenya: Torture, compounded by the denial of medical care

Torture and ill-treatment in Kenya continue. The security forces routinely use torture to extract confessions and political prisoners are harassed and ill-treated. Prison conditions are harsh and medical treatment is often refused or given too late. Doctors who attempt to treat political prisoners are harassed by the police and prison staff. Torture methods are frequently brutal involving beating, near suffocation, sexual humiliation and rape. The Kenyan government has responded to criticism of its human rights record by making largely cosmetic changes with little lasting effect. Without significant international pressure Kenya is unlikely to prevent torture and police brutality or address allegations of human rights violations by the security forces. The report calls on the Kenyan government to implement extensive recommendations which, if effectively implemented, will help to end the pattern of human rights violations in Kenya.

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