Web pages about "Prison Conditions"

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.

No hiding place for torture

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:41:52 +0100

Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to be free from torture and other ill-treatment. 60 years after it was adopted unanimously at the United Nations, Amnesty International documented torture in at least 81 countries.

The organization has documented torture for decades, but governments’ actions in recent years have challenged the validity of the prohibition itself, particularly in the context of counter terrorism.

This month, Amnesty International will seek to reverse this trend. In partnership with the Global Elders, the organization will call on governments to condemn and prevent torture and other ill-treatment and hold to account those responsible.

No justification for torture

Government responses to the attacks of 11 September 2001, and attacks in other countries since then, have amounted to a serious assault on the framework of human rights. They have not only used torture, they have sought to justify it in the name of security.

Detainees have been subjected to secret detention, enforced disappearance and indefinite detention without charge or trial. They have been transferred from one state to another without due process and have been sent to countries where they have faced torture. Such practices and lack of accountability have facilitated the spread and acceptance of torture.

Counter Terror with Justice

Torture is a crime that cannot be justified under any circumstances. Governments must bring to justice those responsible for authorising and inflicting it. The conditions which allow it to flourish, particularly illegal detention, must be brought to an end.

Governments have a duty to protect their population from violent attacks, but real security can only be achieved through justice and the promotion of human rights.

What you can do:

Amnesty International will organize actions on and around 26 June, International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Contact your local office and get involved;
Take action now to end illegal US detentions;
Stay informed by signing up to our e-newsletter and visiting our activism blog.

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.

Follow the cell as it travels across the USA:

Take action now:

Nigeria’s prison system fails its people

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:23:19 +0000

In Nigeria, sixty five percent of prison inmates have never been convicted of any crime, with some awaiting trial for up to ten years.

A new Amnesty International report has condemned Nigeria’s criminal justice system, saying that the country’s prisons are filled with people whose human rights are being systematically violated. Torture by police is said to be widespread, with “confessions” extracted by torture often used as evidence in trials.

The report also reveals how people with mental illness, not suspected of committing any crime, are imprisoned alongside convicted criminals because their families are unable or unwilling to take care of them.

Amnesty International also highlighted the plight of prison staff, who work long and stressful hours for low wages that are often paid late. Staff shortages create security risks for both staff and inmates.

“The problems in Nigerian’s criminal justice system are so blatant and egregious that the Nigerian government has had no choice but to recognize them – and has pledged many times that it will reform the system,” said Aster van Kregten, speaking at a press conference in Abuja.

“However, the reality is that those in prison stand little chance of their rights being respected. Those without money stand even less chance. Some could end up spending the rest of their lives behind bars in appalling conditions without ever having been convicted of a crime – sometimes simply due to their case files having been lost by the police.

“Many inmates awaiting trial are effectively presumed guilty – despite the fact that there is little evidence of their involvement in the crime of which they are accused.”

The Nigerian government has, on numerous occasions, stated its willingness to reform the criminal justice system, acknowledging its role in creating a situation of prolonged detention and overcrowding.

Despite many presidential commissions and committees recommending reform, the recommendations have not been implemented. Instead, the government has set up new committees and commissions to study, review and harmonize the previous recommendations.

Most people in Nigerian prisons are too poor to afford a lawyer and the Legal Aid Council only has 91 lawyers in the whole country to provide legal representation. The result is that only one in seven awaiting trial inmates has access to legal representation.

Appalling prison conditions, including severe overcrowding, are also seriously damaging the mental and physical health of thousands.

In one case, Bassy, a 35-year-old woman with mental illness, was brought to prison by her brother, who said the family could no longer cope with her. Prison authorities classified Bassy as a “civil lunatic.” Accused of no crime and never brought before a judge, Bassy spent almost three years in prison, sleeping on the floor in a cell with 11 women.

After the intervention of PRAWA, a Nigerian non-governmental organization dealing with the incarceration of mentally ill prisoners, Bassy was finally transferred to a hospital, where she is now receiving treatment.

“The Nigerian government is simply not complying with its national and international obligations when it comes to the criminal justice system in Nigeria and must begin to do so seriously and urgently,” said van Kregten. “The conditions we saw and the stories we heard from inmates are a national scandal.”

Police ill-treatment plagues Bosnia and Herzegovina

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:18:06 +0000

Police and prison guards in Bosnia and Herzegovina ill-treat prisoners with almost total impunity, according to a new Amnesty International report.

Prisoner interviews conducted by Amnesty International have exposed a culture of impunity and intimidation that keeps information about ill-treatment penned inside the walls of police stations and prisons.

"The authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina are failing to prevent ill-treatment. Beatings often go unreported and uninvestigated as victims are afraid of reprisals, while complaints are not acted upon," said David Diaz-Jogeix, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia programme.

Amnesty International has urged the authorities to send a clear message that ill-treatment in prisons and by police officers will not be tolerated.

The cycle of ill-treatment may start at the time of arrest and continue in the police station and, after sentencing, in prison. Amnesty International delegates spoke to inmates in detention facilities, including police stations and prisons, during a visit to the country in June 2007.

One man arrested in Prijedor in Republika Srpska (one of the two entities comprising Bosnia and Herzegovina) revealed: "I was arrested, they brought me to the police station... They began with slaps and then they started beating me."

A video from October 2006 showed a man in uniform, thought to be a member of the Sarajevo Canton Police, repeatedly kicking and hitting a young man near what appears to be a police car. The victim was forced to strip naked while the beating continued and was later left unconscious in the street.

In jail, prison guards were reported to have beaten prisoners in isolation cells with truncheons. Yet no prison guards suspected of ill-treatment have been charged in recent years.

There is no effective system to address police misconduct and the police force is seemingly unable - or unwilling - to police itself. Prosecutors are also to blame. The law states they should initiate a criminal investigation whenever they suspect police ill-treatment, but this rarely happens.

"Ongoing discussion about police reform must address the problem of lack of police accountability and its human rights consequences. An effective prison oversight system also needs to be established" David Diaz-Jogeix said.

“The authorities must ensure that prosecutors initiate a prompt, independent, impartial and thorough investigation whenever there are grounds to suspect an act of torture or other ill-treatment”.

Video: Moazzam Begg read Poems from Guantánamo

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:56:05 +0000

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Moazzam Begg, former detainee, reads his own poem Homeward Bound, written in Guantánamo.

Moazzam Begg, a British citizen, was held for 11 months in US custody at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, followed by three years in Guantánamo before his release in January 2005. He has recently published a memoir of his experience: Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment at Guantanamo, Bagram and Kandahar.

Six years from home – Guantánamo detainees from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:12:05 +0000

“I am going back to my wife and children, and you are going back to your cell like a dog.”

Reported statement of US interrogator to Belkacem Bensayeh

Unlike his US interrogator, Belkacem Bensayeh has little hope that he will soon return home to his wife and children. It is now six years since he was seized in Bosnia and Herzegovina and handed over to US forces along with five other men of Algerian origin. All remain held in Guantánamo. None have been charged with any crime. None have been able to challenge the lawfulness of his detention in court.

Despite suffering from numerous ailments, Belkacem Bensayeh is refusing medical treatment at Guantánamo as he does not trust the staff or the facilities. He is currently held in Camp 6, where he spends at least 22 hours a day in a solid steel cell with no natural light.

Another of the men, Lakhdar Boumedienne, has been participating in a hunger strike for over a year to protest his illegal detention. He is being force-fed daily while strapped in a restraint chair. His lawyers have told Amnesty International that letters from his young daughters, begging him to stop his hunger strike, have been withheld from him by the Guantánamo authorities.

The other four detainees are Hadj Boudella, Mohamed Nechle, Saber Lahmar and Mustafa Ait Idir.

Click on the pictures to the right to watch a slideshow with images of the six men prior their detention.

Illegally transferred to Guantánamo

The handing over of the six men to US custody and their subsequent transfer to Guantánamo took place in 2002. This was despite an order of 17 January 2002 by the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to immediately release them and a provisional order by the Human Rights Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina to prevent their deportation, expulsion or extradition.

In 2002 and 2003, the Human Rights Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina ruled again that the transfer of the six men was illegal and urged the authorities to take action to protect the rights of the men.

Amnesty International is calling on US authorities to release all Guantánamo detainees immediately unless they are to be charged and given a fair trial.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities have acknowledged their responsibility in the illegal transfer of the six men. They must now do all they can to ensure that, unless the US authorities promptly charge the men and bring them to trial in an independent an impartial court, they are released from Guantánamo and allowed to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina. They must not be forcibly sent to Algeria or any other state where they would be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

What you can do

Sign up to Amnesty International's framework for ending US illegal detentions, the first step of which is closing Guantánamo.

“Many thanks for all your support during the last 6 years in the fight to free the so called ‘Algerian Six’. I can not really find the words to express my gratitude but whenever I feel down and alone, a letter of support would arrive from one of you and my spirit would rise and I would gain a new strength to continue the struggle…”
Nadja Dizdarevic, wife of Guantánamo detainee Boudella el Hajj.

The world shouts 'Close Guantánamo'

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:55:25 +0000

Thousands of people, including Amnesty International members and supporters from around the world, have taken action to mark the sixth anniversary of the first transfers of detainees to Guantánamo. Amnesty International staged protests in 30 countries on Friday, 11 January.

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

More than simply a call for closure, Amnesty International once again presented the US government with the organization’s framework for ending illegal detentions, whether at Guantánamo or elsewhere. This time, the framework was supported by over 1,200 parliamentarians from around the world.

In some countries, including Belgium and Ireland, some of the parliamentarians accompanied Amnesty International activists at their events and demonstrations.

The infamous orange jumpsuit – closely associated with the inhumanity and illegality of Guantánamo – became once more the icon of this anniversary. There was also street theatre, poetry readings, the recreation of Guantánamo cells in city centres, speeches, rallies and cyber activism.

US military chief wants to close Guantánamo

On Sunday, two days after the anniversary, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Navy Admiral Michael Mullen became the latest US official to say that Guantánamo should be shut down.

“More that anything else, I just think it has been the image – how Gitmo has become around the world, in terms of representing the United States. I believe from the standpoint of how it reflects on us that it’s been pretty damaging.”

What you can still do

Go to tearitdown.org and add your support to Amnesty International’s framework to end illegal US detentions.

Post a tearitdown banner in your website or blog.

Video: Close Guantánamo actions in the UK

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:18:24 +0000

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Actions to mark the sixth anniversary of Guantánamo in the United Kingdom started on 10 January, when Amnesty International activists in London organized an all-night vigil around a replica Guantánamo cage, filled every hour with a new ‘captive’.

Watch the first images of this action and listen to the testimonies of Kate Allen, Director of the UK section of Amnesty International, and Sarah Burton, Campaigns Director at Amnesty International.

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On 11 January, over 200 activists in orange jumpsuits then gathered outside the US Embassy to call for an end to illegal detentions. Actors dressed as US guards patrolled with dogs and shouted orders at the crowd. Watch a film of the demonstration and hear from the activists how it felt to take part.