 |
Torture is the infliction of severe physical or psychological pain or grief as an expression of cruelty, a means of intimidation, deterrent, revenge or punishment, or as a tool for the extraction of information or confessions. Torture is almost universally considered to be an extreme violation of human rights, as stated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Signatories of the Third Geneva Convention and Fourth Geneva Convention agree not to torture protected persons (enemy civilians and POWs) in armed conflicts, and signatories of the UN Convention Against Torture agree not to intentionally inflict severe pain or suffering on anyone, to obtain information or a confession, to punish them, or to coerce them or a third person...[ Wikipedia ]
 |
|
|
Guatemala court voids ex-dictator Rios Montt's genocide conviction
May 21, 2013
The Guatemala Constitutional Court on Tuesday overturned the genocide conviction of ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt and ordered the trial to resume from the point that it was stopped on April 19. Earlier this month Rios Montt was found guilty of the genocide, torture and rape of 1,771 indigenous Ixil....... [more]
Evidence of torture, arbitrary detention found in Syria government centers: HRW
May 17, 2013
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday urged Syrian opposition leaders and neutral international experts to safeguard evidence of torture and arbitrary detention uncovered in government intelligence facilities in Raqqa, the first city to fall to rebel forces. HRW visited the area in April and discovered....... [more]
Chad authorities arrest war crimes suspect
May 17, 2013
The Chad public prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday that it has arrested Mahamat Djibrine, a former political police chief suspected of torture and hundreds of politically motivated killings in the 1980s. Djibrine was in charge of the Directorate of Documentation and Service (DDS) political p....... [more]
UN urges continued commitment to justice in Guatemala after Rios Montt trial
May 16, 2013
A group of UN experts on Wednesday encouraged Guatemalan authorities to continue to seek the establishment of internal and transitional "truth and justice" in the wake of the trial of Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt. Last Friday, a Guatemalan court sentenced Rios Montt to 80 years in p....... [more]
Guatemala court: government must apologize for acts of genocide
May 15, 2013
A Guatemalan court on Monday ordered the government to apologize to the Ixil Maya, an indigenous people, for acts of genocide that were committed against them when former dictator Efrain Rios Montt was in power. Montt was found guilty on Friday of the genocide, torture and rape of 1,771 Ixil Mayans....... [more]
Guatemala ex-dictator found guilty of genocide
May 11, 2013
Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt was found guilty Friday of the genocide, torture and rape of 1,771 indigenous Ixil Mayans during his 1982-83 rule. The court found that Rios Montt was responsible for commanding his military forces to kill 5.5 percent of the Ixil population, who were deem....... [more]
HRW: Centrial African Republic rebels have committed rights violations
May 10, 2013
Members of the Seleka rebel coalition, which ousted President Francois Bozize of the Central African Republic (CAR) in March, committed atrocities against civilians, including pillage, summary execution, rape and torture, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Friday. Daniel Bekele, Africa director at H....... [more]
UK appeals court denies government's Abu Qatada appeal
April 24, 2013
The UK Court of Appeal on Tuesday denied permission to the Home Secretary to appeal to the nation's Supreme Court the decision not to deport radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada to Jordan. The appeals court refused to deport Qatada last month, fearing he would face torture if returned to Jordan. Qatad....... [more]
UK court allowed government one week to seek release of US intelligence
April 22, 2013
On April 22, 2009, a judge for HM Courts and Tribunals Service stated that he would allow the UK government seven days to request the release of classified information related to the detention of Binyam Mohamed from the US government, or the court would issue the request order itself. Mohamed allege....... [more]
Supreme Court rules against extraterritorial application of Alien Tort Statute
April 17, 2013
The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum that nothing in the Alien Tort Statute of 1789 (ATS) rebuts the US presumption against extraterritoriality and that suits challenging torture and international law violations that took place overseas cannot be brough....... [more]
US has engaged in torture authorized by highest officials: report
April 16, 2013
US authorities have engaged in the torture of detainees, and the nation's "highest officials" bear some of the responsibility, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Constitution Project, a bi-partisan legal advocacy and watchdog group. The Task Force on Detainee Treatment was established....... [more]
|
|
