torture Archives

Amnesty International condemns the extradition of a blogger from Belarus to Azerbaijan.

“The criminal proceedings against Aleksander Lapshin should be terminated, and he should be released immediately,” organization said in a statement.

Amnesty International is not aware of any other cases of extradition requests being made by the Azerbaijani authorities against individuals who have entered Nagorno-Karabakh without their permission. However, there are numerous individuals who have visited the territory without permission from the Azerbaijani authorities and been “blacklisted” by Azerbaijan – put on an official list of offenders who will be permanently refused entry to Azerbaijan. Amnesty International takes the view that the extradition and charges against Aleksander Lapshin are a means of targeting him principally in connection with his blogs, in particular his criticism of the Azerbaijani border control system and the country’s social inequality.

“The charge of “public appeals against the state” has no legal basis, as the criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities in his blog falls entirely within the scope of his right to freedom of expression. With regard to the criminal charge of illegal border crossing, the organization maintains that irregular entry should not be treated as a criminal offence. As such, Amnesty International considers that his detention is arbitrary and calls for the criminal proceedings against Aleksandr Lapshin to be terminated. He should be released immediately,” the statement reads.

“Concerns were raised regarding the conditions of Aleksander Lapshin’s detention in Belarus where he was held at the pre-trial detention centre (SIZO) #1 in Minsk. He is also at risk of torture and other ill-treatment while in custody in Azerbaijan.”

“The Azerbaijani authorities have persistently failed to investigate allegations of torture and other ill-treatment and the Azerbaijani courts have on numerous occasions admitted as evidence “confessions” obtained under torture. In extraditing Aleksander Lapshin to Azerbaijan, where he is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment, amongst other human rights violations, the Belarusian authorities have failed to adhere to their obligations under international human rights law. Belarus ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1998, according to which “no State Party shall expel, return or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”

by Matthew Weaver theguardian
CIA torture report: the world reacts

The world reacted Wednesday morning to the startlingly detailed picture of CIA torture delivered by the Senate on Tuesday. Allies expressed support mixed with regret, while regimes that the United States has sought to isolate by detailing their human rights abuses took the opportunity to turn the criticism back on the US. We have gathered the reactions here.

The list includes United Nations, Britain, Iran, China, North Korea, Poland, Guantánamo, Yemen, Egypt, Malaysia, Russia, France and more. A Twitter account associated with Iran’s supreme leader called out the United States for hypocrisy on human rights and got in a lump about Ferguson, Missouri, for good measure:

The UN has led international condemnation of the CIA’s interrogation and detention programme laid bare by the Senate’s intelligence committee. Its special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights has called for the criminal prosecution of Bush-era officials involved.

Ben Emmerson, UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights

It is now time to take action. The individuals responsible for the criminal conspiracy revealed in today’s report must be brought to justice, and must face criminal penalties commensurate with the gravity of their crimes.

The fact that the policies revealed in this report were authorised at a high level within the US government provides no excuse whatsoever. Indeed, it reinforces the need for criminal accountability.

International law prohibits the granting of immunities to public officials who have engaged in acts of torture. This applies not only to the actual perpetrators but also to those senior officials within the US government who devised, planned and authorised these crimes.

As a matter of international law, the US is legally obliged to bring those responsible to justice. The UN convention against torture and the UN convention on enforced disappearances require states to prosecute acts of torture and enforced disappearance where there is sufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction. States are not free to maintain or permit impunity for these grave crimes.

The heaviest penalties should be reserved for those most seriously implicated in the planning and purported authorisation of these crimes. Former Bush Administration officials who have admitted their involvement in the programme should also face criminal prosecution for their acts.

President Obama made it clear more than five years ago that the US government recognises the use of waterboarding as torture. There is therefore no excuse for shielding the perpetrators from justice any longer. The US attorney general is under a legal duty to bring criminal charges against those responsible.

Torture is a crime of universal jurisdiction. The perpetrators may be prosecuted by any other country they may travel to. However, the primary responsibility for bringing them to justice rests with the US Department of Justice and the attorney general.