Freedom from Torture Campaigns

OMCT and GMedia launch a new initiative of empowering journalists to report on torture

Wednesday, 31 October 2012 17:14

Geneva, 29 October 2012

OMCT and GMedia launch a new initiative of empowering journalists to report on torture

Today the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and GMedia are launching a new initiative of empowering journalists to report on torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

‘Journalists play a vital role in fostering the global rejection of torture. Reaching out to them is essential if we want to bring UN anti-torture standards home’, said Gerald Staberock, Secretary General of the OMCT. ‘For too long processes such as those before the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) have been the prominence of a selected few. We need to make them more accessible, understood and raise the interest of journalists in them from countries around the world that are examined by the Committee’, he added.

‘We are supporting journalists to understand human rights standards and mechanisms, including on torture. This partnership brings media and human rights expertise together in order to build successively a community of journalists committed against torture and serious human rights violations’, said Francesco Mochetta, Co-founder and President of Gmedia.

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Philippine expert, Dr. June Lopez, joins the UN’s torture prevention body

On Torture
Wednesday, 31 October 2012 17:06
PRESS RELEASE Philippine expert, Dr. June Lopez, joins the UN’s torture prevention body Dr. June Caridad Pagaduan Lopez, the Philippines, was elected to the United Nation’s Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT). Dr June Lopez, currently Professor of Psychiatry at the College of Medicine, University of the Philippines in Manila, is an expert on forensic evidence and psychiatry with focus on torture, sexual violence and trauma. Her election, along with 11 other experts, to the UN torture prevention body was welcomed by Mr. Mark Thomson, Secretary General of the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT): “This election brings greater diversity to the Subcommittee. I am certain that the SPT will greatly benefit from Dr. Lopez expertise as a psychiatrist and her long experience in teaching and research on torture and other human rights violations,” he said. The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture is the international body established under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which sets up a system of independent monitoring visits to all places where persons are detained, such as prisons, police stations and psychiatric hospitals. With its 25 members the SPT is the largest UN treaty body. Dr. June Lopez was elected as one of 12 new experts to replace SPT members whose terms of office will expire by the end of 2012. Read more... Add new comment
Last Updated on Wednesday, 31 October 2012 17:14

Rights Groups run to challenge Security Sector: Declare in words and deeds torture free detention centers

On Torture
Tuesday, 26 June 2012 13:22
PRESS RELEASE Rights Groups run to challenge Security Sector: Declare in words and deeds torture free detention centers More than 600 people participate in the annual Basta Run Against Torture in time for the U.N. International Day in Support of Victims of Torture today, June 26, 2012. Now in its 6th year, anti-torture advocates challenged the security sector to declare torture free detention centers in words and in deeds. “This year’s BRAT aims to bridge the gap between the commitments and policies on one hand and practices on the other of the security sector and other government agencies with respect to the issue of torture. It hopes to exact the commitment of AFP, PNP and BJMP to declare their places of detention as torture free and stand firm on their commitment.” Joy Lascano of Balay Rehabilitation Center, representative of UATC said in a statement. The United Against Torture Coalition (UATC), a network of anti-torture advocates engages the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP) and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to publicly announce their commitment to proclaim a policy of complete prohibition of torture in all places of detention. Lascano of UATC further said that, “Three years after the enactment of the Anti-Torture Law of 2009, only a handful of cases have been filed. The attempt to prosecute perpetrators is fraught with difficulties due to a lack of transparency from the security sector and the unfamiliarity of prosecutors and judges about the law on torture. None of these cases have seen a just resolution.” Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), also a member of UATC on the other hand documented 23 cases with 40 victims of torture under the P-Noy administration (as of May 2012). According to the group, the data shows that practice of torture on the ground still persists while no one get punished. BRAT 6 was participated by Amnesty International-Philippines, Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), Medical Action Group (MAG), Balay Rehabilitation Center, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND), Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) and the #rememberML@40 campaign committee. Also present are CHR, PHRC, DILG, DOJ, PNP, AFP and BJMP. PRESS RELEASE June 26, 2012 Rights Groups run to challenge Security Sector: Declare in words and deeds torture free detention centers More than 600 people participate in the annual Basta Run Against Torture in time for the U.N. International Day in Support of Victims of Torture today, June 26, 2012. Now in its 6th year, anti-torture advocates challenged the security sector to declare torture free detention centers in words and in deeds. “This year’s BRAT aims to bridge the gap between the commitments and policies on one hand and practices on the other of the security sector and other government agencies with respect to the issue of torture. It hopes to exact the commitment of AFP, PNP and BJMP to declare their places of detention as torture free and stand firm on their commitment.” Joy Lascano of Balay Rehabilitation Center, representative of UATC said in a statement. The United Against Torture Coalition (UATC), a network of anti-torture advocates engages the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP) and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to publicly announce their commitment to proclaim a policy of complete prohibition of torture in all places of detention. Lascano of UATC further said that, “Three years after the enactment of the Anti-Torture Law of 2009, only a handful of cases have been filed. The attempt to prosecute perpetrators is fraught with difficulties due to a lack of transparency from the security sector and the unfamiliarity of prosecutors and judges about the law on torture. None of these cases have seen a just resolution.” Read more... Add new comment
Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 June 2012 13:31

TFDP calls for an immediate resolution of the Habeas Corpus petition of a torture victim

On Torture
Wednesday, 26 October 2011 13:13
Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) is alarmed over the continued detention of Abdulkhan Balinting Ajid, a torture victim presently detained “for safekeeping purposes.” This was according to an order by Judge Leo Principe of the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 1 of Isabela City, Basilan when Ajid’s captors surfaced him on July 27, 2011. The hearing of the Writ of Habeas Corpus and determination of the legality of the arrest of the military ended last September 2011 and both parties already submitted their offer of evidence. Until now, however, the court has yet to decide on the petition. And all the while, Ajid’s right to liberty is being curtailed without a case filed against him. On July 23, 2011 at about 5:30 in the morning, Ajid was forcibly taken from his residence in Barangay Libug, Sumisip, Basilan Province by members of 39th Scout Rangers under Operation Task Force Basilan (SOTF-B). Ajid narrated how his captors made him suffer. Gasoline was poured on his body and he was set on fire. A bottle was also inserted in his anus. His head was wrapped with a plastic bag and he was strangled. He was subjected to intense tactical interrogation and was forced to admit that he is Kanneh Malikil, the subject of the arrest warrant. The continued detention of Ajid, while the Judge has yet to decide on the petition for writ is a violation of the Ajid’s human rights. The victim has suffered a lot of trauma, especially since he should be recuperating from the torture he was made to suffer. TFDP urges Judge Principe to immediately decide on the habeas corpus petition in order for Ajid to be released from detention the soonest possible time.### For more details please contact: RITA MULATO MELECIO Mindanao Team Leader Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) # 214, Earth St., GSIS Heights, Matina, Davao City Add new comment
Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 13:15

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