Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Appendices to the Minutes of Evidence


APPENDIX 6

Memorandum submitted by Caring for Victims of Torture Medical Foundation

  The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture herewith submits the enclosed written evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee for its session on the Human Rights Annual Report 1999 to be held on 23 November. The evidence consists of brief submissions (1) on the International Criminal Court Statute; and (2), (3) and (4) on torture in three countries: India (the Punjab), Sri Lanka, and Turkey, based on the testimony and medical evidence of Medical Foundation clients.

  In general, the Medical Foundation welcomes the improvements in the 1999 reports over its predecessor because the former specifies types of human rights abuse in particular countries. The brief mentions of some of the serious human rights abuses found in particular countries indicate the British Government's willingness to address specific problems with other governments in bilateral and multilateral relations.

  For these reasons the Medical Foundation regrets that the widespread practice of torture of Sikhs in India and of Sri Lankan (largely Tamil) citizens is not addressed in the Human Rights Annual Report 1999. We welcome the short section on torture in Turkey (page 55) but believe that there is more the British Government could do to highlight the problem.

  Our country-specific submissions briefly indicate the extent of torture and some of the methods of abuse suffered by our clients and documented by our medical staff. In each of these countries torture occurs in the context of a sometimes violent struggle by a minority to counter perceived discrimination and to achieve greater recognition or autonomy than the government wishes to grant. The UK has particular obligations and responsibilities towards each of these countries: India and Sri Lanka as members of the Commonwealth, and Turkey as a Member State of the Council of Europe. In addition, these three countries are major refugee-producing countries, and refugees arriving in the UK from these countries have frequently suffered torture.

  Our submission on the International Criminal Court Statute calls on the Government to make time in its legislative agenda in the next session of Parliament for ratification of this milestone treaty.

  We request that the members of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee consider raising with the Minister the following questions:

  1.  How does the Government intend to overcome any scheduling difficulties so as to introduce enabling legislation that will allow the United Kingdom to fulfil the Foreign Secretary's pledge made in July 1998 to be among the first 60 countries to ratify the International Criminal Court Statute?

  2.  Given the pledges made by the Indian Government to address the problem of torture, what steps can the British Government take to press them to deliver on those promises in Indian police stations?

  3.  Given the extensive and detailed recommendations for ending the practice of torture in Sri Lanka made by, eg, the UN Committee against Torture, the UN Working Group on Disappearances and Amnesty International, what contribution to ending the practice of torture in Sri Lanka does the Minister consider the UK could most effectively make?

  4.  What plans does the UK have for using its good offices as a Member State of the Council of Europe to work towards a just solution to the conflict between the Turkish Government and the Kurdish minority?

About the Medical Foundation:

  The Medical Foundation is the only charity in the UK which works exclusively with survivors of torture and organised violence. It cares for both adults and children. It has treated more than 18,000 clients since it began and now helps approximately 3,000 new clients a year from about 90 countries. Regions from which new referrals arrived during 1998 included: Africa (33 per cent); Middle East (37 per cent); Europe (10 per cent); Asia (16 per cent); and the Americas (4 per cent). Its clients also include British survivors of Far East Prisoner of War camps from the Second World War and victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

  The Foundation aims to provide survivors of torture with medical, emotional and practical support; to train health professionals and others to work with torture survivors; to educate the public about torture and to campaign to improve the legal framework regarding the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees.

  The Foundation's 80 paid and 80 volunteer doctors, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists and case-workers offer clients medical treatment, practical help and advice with housing and welfare benefits, and a range of therapies, including psychotherapy, individual and family counselling, physiotherapy and complementary therapies. A child psychotherapist works with childern who have been tortured, whose parents have been tortured or who have witnessed atrocities perpetrated against their families. A team of experienced interpreters help our clinicians offer services, free of charge to the client, in 59 languages.

1.  RATIFICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) STATUTE

  1.1  The Medical Foundation welcomes the statement to Parliament by the Foreign Secretary, the Right Hon Robin Cook MP, on 20 July 1998: "I hope—it is our intention—that we shall be amongst the first 60 to ratify [the ICC Statute]". Speedy ratification of this international treaty will help ensure that victims and survivors of torture and other crimes against humanity can seek justice, redress and compensation with the acknowledgement and support of the international community.

  1.2  As co-intervenors in the House of Lords hearings concerning General Augusto Pinochet, the Medical Foundation is aware of problems that can arise when the principle of universal jurisdiction is applied in a national legal system. While this case established that the crime of torture is subject to universal jurisdiction in the English courts, even when the accused is a former Head of State, the case also demonstrated the legal and practical difficulties of applying such international treaties as the 1984 UN Convention against Torture in a particular domestic legal system.

  1.3  Public debate around this particular case highlights further threats which, were it not for fiercely independent English and Spanish judiciaries, might have tainted the legal process. Damage to bilateral trade, the alleged moral debt owed by one state to another for asistance during wartime, and the threat to democratic stability in Chile—all were invoked in support of allowing an accused torturer to escape the rigours of international treaties.

  1.4  The gains in the Pinochet case for Btitish domestic law should not be under-estimated. Nevertheless, the implementation of international law against torture, "disappearances", genocide and other crimes against humanity would no doubt be best achieved at an international level What is noticeable in the Pinochet case is that neither the British nor the Spanish governments have sought the prosecution of General Pinochet. The English Attorney General has repeatedly declined to investigate or prosecute him in England, and the Spanish Government's attempt to block the application for extradition would have succeeded had not the Spanish Supreme Court overruled it. Unfortunately, not all judiciaries are free from journalistic pressure or political interference. For the sake of consistency across many legal jurisdictions, it is imperative that the ICC come into existence as soon as possible so that future Pinochets can be investigated, indicted and tried by an international tribunal.

  1.5  The advantages to Britain of early ratification are moral and practical. Britain can show its continuing leadership role, which it played so effectively prior to and during the Rome Diplomatic Conference in1998 that drafted the Statute as well as by its early signing of the Statute. As one of the 60 Charter States to ratify, Britain would have greater influence in the drafting and adoption of the rules of procedure and evidence as well as the financial arrangments for the Court. Finally, pointing to the Pinochet case as one indication, we would argue that the financial and diplomatic costs of an ICC prosecution are much less than a domestic national prosecution when high officials are the subject of universal jurisdiction.

2.  PUNJABI SIKH CLIENTS OF THE MEDICAL FOUNDATION

  2.1  A new Medical Foundation report entitled Lives under Threat: a study of Sikhs coming to the UK from the Punjab medically documents 95 Sikh torture survivors examined between November 1991 and March 1999 at the Medical Foundation in London.Torture in police stations and interrogation centres in the Punjab is shown to be routine despite efforts by the Indian Government to suppress the practice.

  2.2  The examining physician who conducted these 95 medical examinations concludes: "All these men gave a history of abuse with a variety of techniques that show a pattern peculiar to the region, partly due to the use of materials easily available to the police, such as the lathi (long stout bamboo canes) and the ghotna, the four-foot-long grinding pestle used to roll down the victim's body."

  2.3  Several aspects of torture are evident from this Medical Foundation report:

    —  Severe physical and psychological torture is routinely employed in police stations and interrogation centres in the Punjab;

    —  Beatings are often severe: 82 of the 95 cases examined lost consciousness on one or more occasions during interrogation, and 61 were unable to walk upon release;

    —  Other methods of torture include electric shock, beatings on the soles of the feet, suspension by the arms or wrists tied behind the back, cheera ("tearing") of the groin muscles by pulling the legs apart to 180 degrees, rolling of the limbs with the ghotna;

    —  Long-term physical damage was common, including pain on walking; damage to the shoulder girdle; pain in the back, hips and joints; visual disturbance attributed to blows to the head with rifle butts;

    —  Psychological sequelae were evident in all cases, with elements of post-traumatic stress disorder, such as loss of concentration (65 cases), memory loss (34), confusion (11), intrusive thoughts (37), flashbacks (8), panic attacks (20), and especially, recurrent nightmares reproducing events experienced during detention (56);

    —  Torture is at least a semi-official policy since several detainees affirmed that torture occurred during questioning by senior officers, some of whom were named by the victim;

    —  Ill-treatment was clearly aimed at obtaining information about dissident groups;

    —  An additional purpose is to terrorise the supposedly disaffected population;

    —  42 torture survivors stated that they were released without charge only after a substantial bribe was paid—the sole motive, at times, for the repeated arrest of the sons of well-to-do parents.

  2.4  In spite of the Indian Government's protestations that security agents accused of torture are being identified and punished, there is clear evidence that police still practise routine discrimination, bribery and torture without fear of retribution. Until the Indian Government's promise of protection against torture equates with the delivery of protection, our Sikh clients will continue to fear further persecution and torture were they to be returned to India.

3.  SRI LANKAN CLIENTS OF THE MEDICAL FOUNDATION

  3.1  The Medical Foundation has always had large numbers of Sri Lankan clients, seeing around 200-300 each year in the last few years. A recent Medical Foundation study Caught in the Crossfire (publication forthcoming) reviewed 49 Sri Lankan Tamil clients whose torture was medically documented. All 49 had been in detention in Sri Lanka since January 1997 so the torture described was relatively recent. All but two of the clients were male, most aged 20 to 30.

  3.2  There was a consistent pattern in all detentions of being punched, kicked, and hit with a range of objects including S-LON pipes (plastic pipes filled with heavy material). Two thirds suffered cuts from knives or bayonets, or burns from hot metal or cigarettes, or both. More than half described being suspended upside down, beaten or made to inhale noxious fumes from burning chillies or both. About a quarter were semi-suffocated with a plastic shopping bag sometimes smeared inside with a little petrol. A quarter suffered sexual abuse, sometimes severe and prolonged. All reported continuing physical problems. About 40 per cent reported continuing psychological problems. The features reported are also recorded by the US State Department, UNHCR, and human rights NGOS.

  3.3  Torture takes place in the context of continuing civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government forces. UNHCR estimates that 138,000 Sri Lankans sought asylum in Europe during the 1990s and a further 32,000 in north America. In addition, there are some 110,000 Sri Lankan asylum seekers in India.

  3.4  Most Medical Foundation clients were detained on suspicion of being LTTE supporters. Government forces took obvious scars to mean that the detainee "must" have been fighting with the LTTE. Some clients were "identified" as LTTE supporters by other detainees forced to point them out on pain of further torture if they do not comply. In fact these scars were caused by shelling or in previous detentions, but they resulted in people being detained and at risk of torture solely on these grounds.

  3.5  Of the more recent arrests, 65 per cent were by the army, almost all in the north, 24 per cent were by the police, all in Colombo, and 11 per cent were by other Tamil militant groups. The average length of detentions was less than 3 weeks by the police, about 5½ months by those in the army camps, and those in prison spent an average of more than ten months there. Few were brought to court or charged.

  3.6  Sixty one per cent were released from their final detention because of bribes paid by family or friends, indicating official corruption among police and army. 31 per cent were able to escape, all from army camps in the north. Only two were released on bail following routine court hearings, and one other was released following the intervention of the ICRC. Clients described the presence in many places where they were detained of equipment whose only use is torture (eg suspension equipment), suggesting at least official connivance.

  3.7  Detailed recommendations for ending the practice of torture in Sri Lanka have been made by other bodies, especially the UN Committee against Torture, the UN Working Group on Disappearances and Amnesty International. Recent recommendations by the EU High Level Working Group to make it more difficult for Sri Lankans to leave, many of whom are at risk of persecution and torture, are not appropriate. EU and British diplomatic efforts towards a just resolution of the conflict would be a more suitable and more effective means to diminish the practice of torture in Sri Lanka.

4.  TURKISH CLIENTS OF THE MEDICAL FOUNDATION

  4.1  Turkish asylum seekers have always been among the most numerous Medical Foundation clients. We have seen around 300-400 each year in the last few years.

  4.2  A recent Medical Foundation study entitled Staying Alive by Accident: Torture Survivors from Turkey in the UK reviewed 78 Turkish clients whose torture was medically documented. Medical evidence of torture found scars or other signs that the clients had been tortured as they described. Doctors found scarring from beatings, cigarette burn scars, pain in feet and shoulders consistent with reported injuries, and in virtually all the clients, often considerable mental and emotional symptoms. Beating, falaka (beating on the soles of the feet), electrical torture, suspension and cold water hosing were the tortures most frequently reported, with blindfolding, enforced nakedness and threats of death or violence generally accompanying the physical ill-treatment. Similar findings based on medical examinations in Turkey are reported by other agencies, for example, Physicians for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch (Helsinki) and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.

  4.3  The 78 clients in this Medical Foundation report left Turkey and sought political asylum in the UK because they feared further torture. All but eight of the samples were men, most of whom were married, but a good number had left wives and children behind. Most lived in small towns or villages and were farmers, although some had fled to large towns to try to escape the attentions of the security forces. All but two were Kurds; most had political sympathies for Kurdish separatist or communist ideas. Most belonged to the minority religious Alevi group whose members are also harassed. In virtually every case, other members of the family had also been persecuted. The clients were usually detained repeatedly for a few days at a time. Only 15 were charged with an offence, and of these, only three were convicted. All described torture during their arrests.

  4.4  Medical examination during detention and upon release or court appearance is required by Turkish law, but intimidation of doctors and detainees leads to torture not being reported or documented even when there are clear signs of it. In March 1998 a doctor was charged with malpractice for documenting torture of six men accused of theft although the charge against the doctor was later dropped. The Turkish Government has issued circulars ordering compliance with regulations forbidding the use of torture and has instituted human rights training for security personnel. It has also established a Human Rights Minister. However, as the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture pointed out, these measures are inadequate without more effective control of the security forces.

  4.5  Incommunicado detention significantly facilitated the torture of the Medical Foundation's clients. Recently introduced shorter detention times should help to make torture less likely, but so far reports suggest that these are not everywhere complied with.

  4.6  It is significant that almost all the Turkish clients of the Medical Foundation are Kurdish. Most of the torture we have documented occurs in the context of the struggle between the Turkish Government and the Kurdish separatist movement, the PKK. Intolerance of cultural difference, enforced by violence, characterised the initial relations between the Turkish Government and the Kurds in Turkey, and still does to this day. A just solution to this dispute that recognises the human rights of all parties, would contribute very significantly to the elimination of torture in Turkey.


 
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