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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;

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.

One thousand protesters unaccounted for in Tibet lock-down

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:06:48 +0100

As the Olympic torch relay travels to Lhasa, Amnesty International urged the Chinese government to provide information about the over 1,000 people detained during the protests last March and called for free access to Tibet by independent observers.

The call came as Amnesty International published an update on the situation in Tibet since the outbreak of violence – looking at the continuing violent crackdown against protesters, the situation of those detained, including those reported to have been beaten and deprived of proper health care and adequate food, and the severe censorship facing journalists and Tibetans.

“There is very little information coming out of Tibet, but the information we have paints a dire picture of arbitrary detentions and abuse of detainees,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific Director at Amnesty International.

“With the torch relay about to enter Tibetan areas, this should be an opportunity to shine some light on the situation there.”

Official reports only provide information on a small number of those who have been sentenced after questionable trials.

Foreign journalists are still blocked from entering Tibet. Limited reports that have come through friends and family members to the media and Tibetan organizations say police and security forces have confiscated mobile phones, computers and other communications equipment in hundreds of raids on monasteries, nunneries and private homes, physically preventing thousands from communication with the outside world.

Those who dare to find ways of sending information to foreign media or human rights organizations regarding protests and arrests, risk arrest and imprisonment.

“The complete lock-down in Tibet is allowing human rights abuses such as arbitrary detentions, ill treatment and severe censorship to go unreported and unpunished,” said Sam Zarifi.

“Hundreds of people languish in Chinese prisons for peacefully expressing their opinions, in appalling conditions and without their relatives even knowing where they are. The passing of the torch should allow journalists a chance to see the actual situation on the ground and promote the ‘Free and Open Olympics’ promised in the Beijing Olympic Action Plan.”

Chinese authorities have not only detained monks and nuns and other protesters, they have also targeted Tibetan artists who did not have any direct involvement in the on-going protests. What these figures had in common was involvement in efforts to preserve Tibetan culture. Jamyang Kyi, a well-known singer, TV presenter and producer, was arrested on 1 April from her work place at the Qinghai TV station and held incommunicado for at least one month before, it is believed, being placed under house arrest, only after paying a significant fee.

Background Information
Initial protests after March 10 turned violent and targeted ethnic Han Chinese individuals and businesses. But protesters, often led by monks and nuns, are believed to have been mainly peaceful since March 14, when the Dalai Lama exhorted demonstrators to avoid violence.

The Olympic torch relay is travelling through China under great scrutiny and with journalists highly controlled in areas such as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The original schedule for the torch relay travelling through Tibet has been changed and it is now reported to be on Saturday 21 June.

Time for real change as Supreme Court rules on Guantánamo detentions

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:55:15 +0100

On the 12 June 2008 the US Supreme Court recognized, in the case of Boumediene v.Bush, the right of those detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to challenge their detention in US civilian courts. Amnesty International described the ruling as an essential step towards restoring the rule of law to the USA’s counter terrorism measures.

The judgment removes a key obstacle to vindicating basic rights ending the lawless environment of isolation, enforced silence, invisibility, and unrestrained executive power in Guantánamo Bay.

The Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional attempts by the administration and Congress (through the 2006 Military Commissions Act) to strip the detainees of their right to habeas corpus. The Court also dismissed as deficient the substitute scheme established by the administration and Congress to replace habeas corpus proceedings. That scheme consists of “Combatant Status Review Tribunals” (CSRTs), panels of three military officers empowered to review the detainee’s “enemy combatant” status, with extremely limited judicial review of final CSRT decisions under the 2005 Detainee Treatment Act (DTA). The first CSRTs were not held until more than two years after the detentions began. No judicial review of CSRT decisions had been undertaken at the time of the Supreme Court's decision.

"This is the third time since 2004 that the US's highest court has rejected arguments advanced by the Bush administration that it can indefinitely detain people without charge or trial, with no meaningful access to justice," said Amnesty International. The organisation had filed an amicus brief in the case.

“The time has come for the US government to finally bring its detention policies and practices in the 'war on terror' in line with international standards. It must stop all interference with the access of detainees to civilian courts. It should close Guantánamo promptly, abandon the fundamentally unfair military commission proceedings and either release or charge and try detainees held there in US federal courts”, Amnesty International said.

President George W. Bush’s immediate response to the judgment was to side with the four Justices who dissented from the majority opinion. The President stated that the dissenters had been concerned about national security, and that the administration would “study this opinion, and we'll do so with this in mind, to determine whether or not additional legislation might be appropriate, so that we can safely say, or truly say to the American people: We're doing everything we can to protect you.”

The organization expressed concern that the US Government has in the past sought to circumvent rulings of the Supreme Court dealing with their detention policies and practices - notoriously introducing the Military Commissions Act after the court ruled against it in Hamdan v Rumsfeld - and its hopes that the President’s response is not a signal the administration will not adequately address the substance of the Court’s ruling.

"Justice is long overdue for the some 280 detainees, many of whom have been detained for more than six years without access to any court,” said Amnesty International.

Video: Murat Kurnaz, former detainee at Guantánamo and Afghanistan

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:55:34 +0100

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Murat Kurnaz was arrested in Pakistan in November 2001, and then held in US custody in Afghanistan and Guantánamo.

He was detained without charge or trial for nearly five years.

Released in August 2006, he is now back home in Bremen, Germany.

Women activists arrested in Zimbabwe

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:49:45 +0100

A group of Zimbabwean women activists are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment following their arrest at a peaceful demonstration in Harare.

Fourteen activists from the organisation Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), including WOZA leaders Jenni Williams and Magadonga Mahlangu, were arrested on 28 May and are being held under harsh prison conditions.

Jenni Williams, national coordinator of WOZA, fellow WOZA leader Magadonga Mahlangu, and 12 other activists, including one man, were captured as they marched to the Zambian Embassy. They were calling on the Chair of the Southern African Development Community to help bring an end to the violence that has been taking place in Zimbabwe since elections were held on 29 March 2008.

It is reported that some of the WOZA members were beaten by police as they were arrested. They are all being charged with ‘distributing materials likely to cause a breach of the peace,’ under Section 37 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. Jenni Williams has a further charge against her for ‘publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State’ under Section 31 of the same Act.
Some WOZA members appeared in court on 30 May and others on 31 May. After initially being granted bail, the state prosecutor then won an appeal against granting them bail and all 14 were remanded in custody.

The thirteen women are being held at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison and the male WOZA member is being held at Harare Central Remand Prison. Reports indicate that conditions in both of these prisons are deplorable and fall well below international standards.

Sufficient blankets and warm clothing have not been provided to the WOZA detainees, which is of particular concern as it is currently winter in Zimbabwe. They are being remanded in custody until 6 June when they will appear in court again.

Amnesty International understands that the WOZA members were arrested and detained purely because they were attempting to exercise their universally guaranteed rights to freedom of association and assembly.

Though WOZA members have been arrested on dozens of occasions since the formation of the organisation in 2003, the most recent arrests are part of a wider crackdown on human rights defenders, trade unionists, lawyers, journalists, election observers and opposition activists in the wake of the parliamentary and presidential elections of 29 March.

Russian authorities ruled responsible for Chechen women's disappearance

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:35:30 +0100

In a ruling made on 29 May 2008, the European Court of Human Rights has found the Russian authorities responsible for the May 2003 enforced disappearance of two young Chechen women, Aminat Dugaeva and Kurbika Zinabdieva.

“The Court’s ruling is a step forward in the search for justice for Aminat, Kurbika and their families. We will continue to campaign on their behalf and urge the Russian authorities to ensure that the women’s disappearance is fully investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice,” said Nicola Duckworth of Amnesty International.

The women, members of the same family, were abducted on the night of 16 May 2003 from Kurbika’s home in Ulus-Kert, Chechnya, by a group of 20 men wearing blue uniforms and balaclavas.

Aminat was only 15 years old at the time. Kurbika, who suffered from a brain tumour and epilepsy, needed constant care. Their families have had no news of them since.

In its decision of 29 May, Gekhayeva and others v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights strongly supported the family’s allegation that the abductors were in fact Russian servicemen. The Court also criticised the Russian authorities for their failure to provide documents about the investigation into the case.

The European Court found that the official investigation, launched in 2003, has been incomplete and inadequate. It was suspended from June 2004 to August 2006 and so far has failed to identify those responsible for the women’s disappearance.

As a result, the Court found the Russian authorities to be in grave violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, concluding that:

There had been a violation of the right to life, given that the women had to be presumed dead following their unacknowledged detention by Russian servicemen and that the authorities had not justified the use of lethal force by their agents.
The unacknowledged detention of Aminat and Kurbika violated their right to liberty and security.
The Russian authorities’ handling of complaints by the victims’ families constituted inhuman treatment, given the stress and anguish they had suffered.

The Court also concluded that the Russian authorities had failed to carry out an effective criminal investigation. Serious shortcomings included the authorities’ initial refusal to open a criminal investigation and the suspension of the investigation for more than two years.

Different voices

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:52:17 +0100

When Amnesty International presented Report 2008 to the media at The Foreign Press Association in London on 27 May, several people involved in human rights campaigning around the world were invited as special guests. We caught up with three of them.

The first female judge to work at the High Court in Pakistan, Majida Razvi, is now retired. She is currently a women's rights defender and one of seven trustees of the Panah Shelter Home for women in Karachi.

Panah seeks to provide a peaceful haven and temporary refuge for women who are victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse, or under threat of honour killings.

Majida Razvi says she's happy to support the launch of Amnesty International's Report 2008 because "we established the shelter homes in 2001 and the seed money was given by Amnesty International to start with. Also other organizations connected to Amnesty International have been helping us in Karachi. So I think Amnesty International has been a great help and I hope it will be in the future."

Since starting Panah, Majida Razvi says the greatest change she has noticed is the overall awareness of the issues surrounding violence against women. "We are not only providing shelter for these women but we are also trying to create awareness amongst these women by holding workshops and the like."

"There's a greater awareness amongst the public now too. We've also been successful in changing the attitude of the police and the judiciary, trying to get them to be more sympathetic and polite to women who are victims. We need a revolution in the mind of the public and in the minds of men and also in the minds of the women who are governed by their husbands, and by the mullahs of the area."

A young Brighton-based Zimbabwean, Alois Mbawara, has been living in exile in the UK since 2002. He is one of the founding members of Free-Zim Youth, an organization that tries to influence institutions and organisations to take a tougher stance on Harare.

"We are young Zimbabweans in exile who fled the repression and political violence in Zimbabwe," says Mbawara. "As citizens of Zimbabwe we need to be exposing the gross human rights violations being perpetuated by the Mugabe regime. So that's how we came up with the idea for this civic organization to lobby the African Union, to get it to take a stance on what is happening in Zimbabwe.

Mbawara explains why he agreed to join Amnesty’s launch event "It's good exposure. In particular it gives us a multilateral venue to express what is happening in Zimbabwe. It is an historical opportunity to express our views on the political nature of Zimbabwe."

He adds that Amnesty’s work has been helpful in "documenting the day-to-day lives of the ordinary person in Zimbabwe. I have to stress that, due to the lack of free press and media, even people who work for human rights organizations don't have access to information about the political violence in Zimbabwe and are unable to publicize it. So, Amnesty International plays a very pivotal role."

Since starting Free-Zim Youth, Mbawara says their advocacy work, lobbying and demonstrations have had an effect. "Some may call it undiplomatic but we had to confront South African leaders when they came over to the UK and say to them 'now look here, you need to be in a position to do something'" he says, recalling the group's protest during South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dhlamini Zuma's 2006 lecture at the London School of Economics.

"We have been having a positive response from that. The South African government has since released a critical statement that they will take a tough stance on what is happening in Zimbabwe."

Released from Guantánamo on 24 August 2006, German-born Turkish national Murat Kurnaz had been held for four years and eight months without charge or trial, despite little evidence to link him to "terrorist" activities. Both US and German intelligence services secretly acknowledged this, yet it took years to secure his release.

Kurnaz has alleged that he was subjected to torture and ill-treatment while in US custody. His book, Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantánamo, was launched at an Amnesty International event in Belfast on May 8. John Le Carre called it "The most compassionate, truthful and dignified account of the disgrace of Guantanamo that you are ever likely to read." Patti Smith wrote a song about Kurnaz called "Without Chains" in 2006. She also wrote the foreword to his book.

Kurnaz says he agreed to attend the launch of the Amnesty International Report 2008 because "I like to use all the chances I have to talk, not for me, because I am already a free man, but I'm still trying to help the ones still held in torture camps and prisons and I'm campaigning against those people supporting torture and building torture camps."

Speaking about Amnesty International, Kurnaz says "Amnesty International is trying to show the people what is going on. It's up to the people, when they know the truth, then they can try to make things change."

While positive, Kurnaz concedes that change won't happen overnight. "Because things that have happened in the past have come to light, maybe they won't happen again in the future. I feel like even if it's very slow, things are going to get changed. A few days ago I was the first former Guantánamo detainee to testify before the American Congress. It was the first time they had talked about Guantánamo. I hope this will mean big changes for the future."

Parliamentarians meet US authorities over illegal detentions

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:49:40 +0100

International parliamentarians are meeting with US government officials from 14-16 May 2008 to discuss Amnesty International's framework to end illegal US detentions.

Sir Menzies Campbell, Member of the UK Parliament, and Christophe Strasser, Member of the German Bundestag, will represent the 1,236 parliamentarians from 30 countries that have already joined the call to US authorities to end illegal detention at Guantánamo and elsewhere, in accordance with Amnesty International's framework.

Sir Menzies Campbell and Christophe Strasser will meet with officials from the US Department of State, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Office of Senator McCain and the US Navy, among others.

Replica Guantánamo cell touring the US

Since 8 May, a replica of a maximum security cell at Guantánamo has been touring the US. The tour, organized by Amnesty International, is a way to enable people to get a glimpse of the harsh realities of illegal detention and prolonged isolation.

Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, ex-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and a representative of the Global Elders, visited the cell in Miami on 10 May and spoke to Amnesty International activists who had gathered for a concert and rally.

Getting a glimpse of Guantánamo

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:46:52 +0100

Amnesty International is bringing a life-size model of a maximum security cell at Guantánamo to cities across the USA. The tour is a way to enable people in the United States to get a glimpse of the harsh realities of illegal detention and prolonged isolation.

Most of the detainees at Guantánamo are held in isolation, many of them with virtually no access to natural light or contact with other human beings, for up to 24 hours a day. Compounding their suffering is the fact that they have no indication of when or if they will be freed from Guantánamo.

Most are detained without charge. Those who have been charged face unfair trials by military commission. Some may face execution.

Starting in Miami on 8 May, the tour will make a stop in Washington D.C. on 26 June, to mark International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Visitors to the cell are encouraged to enter and to experience the conditions of isolation and then share their experience in a video message. Watch a panoramic photo from inside the model cell to get an idea. And before leaving, they can also take action to end illegal US detentions at Guantánamo and elsewhere.