About: Torture
Seventeen OSCE nations appoint team to probe Belarus election fraud, torture
Seventeen members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have appointed an independent team of experts to investigate alleged rights violations in Belarus' August presidential election.
Commission charts end to execution and torture in human rights plans
The European Commission is calling on member states to work together on the world stage to put an end to capital punishment and torture.
Lithuania says it will not appeal European court ruling over CIA torture jail
Lithuania on Wednesday (22 August) said it would not appeal a European court ruling that the Baltic state had been complicit in a clandestine CIA programme by holding terror suspects at a secret detention site on its territory.
Russian ex-prisoners speak out over torture after leaked video
After a widely shared video of guards beating an inmate shocked the country, Alexander Zarechnev is one of a growing number of Russians to break their silence over violence and torture in Russian prisons.
Bulgaria under fire for ill-treatment of asylum-seekers
French lawyers will file a complaint against Bulgaria and ask the European Commission to start an infringement procedure for inhumane treatment of asylum seekers by the country’s authorities, the Green/EFA group announced on Tuesday (26 June).
EU concerned over rights abuses in Equatorial Guinea
The European Union has criticised "a sharp decline" in human rights in Equatorial Guinea where an opposition figure died in custody and over 130 people have been detained since elections last year.
At UN, EU leads push to end trade in lethal cocktails, torture goods
About 60 countries led by the European Union yesterday (18 September) will launch a bid at the United Nations to end the trade in goods like electro-shock batons and lethal drugs used to carry out torture and death sentences.
Italy passes law making torture a crime, critics say full of holes
Italy's parliament yesterday (5 July) approved a long-awaited law criminalising torture, but critics said it had been so heavily watered down that many abuses may still go unpunished.
Amnesty alleges Italian police ‘torture’ of migrants
Italian police have used beatings and electric shocks, potentially constituting "torture", to coerce migrants into being fingerprinted as Italy cracks under pressure from the EU, Amnesty International said today (3 October).
EU turns the screws on providers of torture equipment
The European Parliament has today (4 October) passed legislation designed to strengthen the EU's ban on the export of torture equipment by preventing the marketing and promotion of items such as spiked batons or restraint chairs.
Turkish ‘unity’ rally condemns coup amid torture claims
Many thousands of Turks massed Sunday (24 July) for the first cross-party rally to condemn the coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, amid a purge of suspected state enemies.
Thai military cracks down on allegations of torture
In Thailand, three human rights activists face several years in prison after revealing details of torture perpetrated by the military. They are charged with insulting the army. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Chad’s ex-leader Habre gets life sentence for atrocities
Former Chad president Hissène Habré, an ally of the West during the Cold War, was convicted yesterday (30 May) of war crimes and crimes against humanity for ordering the killing and torture of thousands of political opponents during his eight-year rule.
Council of Europe worried about Belgian prisons crisis
The Council of Europe, the continent’s oldest organisation specialised in human rights, has visited prisons in Belgium where a large number of staff were absent due to strike and therefore did not provide services to inmates.
Rights abuses revealed in EU free-trade candidate Malaysia
A leading candidate for a free trade agreement with the EU has been accused of a major crackdown on human rights, in what could be a test case for Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström’s new focus on an ethical dimension to FTAs.
Funds to fight death penalty spread too thin, say EU auditors
“Modest” EU funding earmarked to fight the death penalty and torture across the world is spread too thinly across too many projects, and is being spent in countries with little hope of reform, the European Court of Auditors has warned.
Torture practices are not a thing of the past
It is time for the EU to live up to its commitment to put an end to torture, starting with its partners in the Gulf, writes Isabel Cerdá Marcos.
UN finds Eritrea may have committed crimes against humanity
Eritrea may have committed crimes against humanity, a year-long UN human rights inquiry said in a report published yesterday (8 June) describing extrajudicial killings, widespread torture, sexual slavery and enforced labour.
Human rights violations in Gambia prompt donors to cut aid
A report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has found evidence of significant human rights violations in Gambia, placing pressure on European governments as they consider whether to press ahead with a major aid package.
CIA torture exposes UK’s failure to protect its citizens
The CIA rendition scandal laid bare the British government’s failure to live up to its international obligations and protect the basic rights of its citizens, writes Sajjad Karim.