Worldwide Torture Cases
Torture is inflicted upon detainees in a shocking number of the world's nations. Some governments seek to justify their use of this brutal practice, while others don't even bother to try. But torture can never be justified. Torture can never be condoned.
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(UA 341/09) Demand the Release of Majid Tavakkoli
Iranian student leader Majid Tavakkoli, held since 7 December 2009 after a demonstration, has been sentenced to eight years and six months imprisonment after an unfair trial. He is believed to be appealing against his conviction and sentence. He is a prisoner of conscience.
Iranian student leader Majid Tavakkoli, held since 7 December 2009 after a demonstration, has been sentenced to eight years and six months imprisonment after an unfair trial. He is believed to be appealing against his conviction and sentence. He is a prisoner of conscience.
Behrang Tonekaboni, a male music journalist, and his mother Lily Farhadpour, along with Behrang Tonekaboni's male colleague Kayvan Farzin, have been detained at an unknown location since their arrests in Iran's capital, Tehran, earlier this month. They appear to have been subjected to enforced disappearance and are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.
Human rights activist Aleksei Sokolov's trial is now scheduled to begin on 19 January. Sokolov was arrested on 13 May '09 and has been in custody awaiting trial since then. There have been a series of violations of criminal procedure in the handling of Sokolov's case and his lawyers fear that he may not receive a fair trial.
Ahmed Mahmoud Haddi, who was detained in conditions amounting to an enforced disappearance by the Moroccan Security forces in October, is now facing trial on criminal charges and has been remanded to prison. He is believed to have been tortured in custody, and is at risk of receiving an unfair trial.
Three Iranian journalists, Bahman Ahmadi Amou'i, Kevyan Samimi Behbahani, and Saeed Laylaz, have been sentenced to prison terms following the government's crackdown on freedom of expression after the June 12 elections. Bahman Ahmadi Amou'i's sentence includes flogging. Keyvan Samini Behbehani remains in solitary confinement. All three men are prisoners of conscience. They are at risk of torture.
The Thai authorities forcibly returned around 4,500 Lao Hmong, including 158 recognized refugees, to Laos at the end of 2009. The Lao government is refusing to permit UN and other monitors access to them.
Hundreds of people are believed to be held incommunicado following mass arrest on the 27th and 28th of December. All of those arrested are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.
Male prisoner, Ramzi Romdhani has stated that he was tortured on 24 and 25 December. He sustained serious eye injuries that could cause blindness unless treated immediately. He is at further risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
On December 1, 2004, some 200 people participated in a nonviolent ceremony in Papua Province during which the Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence, was raised in commemoration of the declaration of Papuan independence in 1962. For peacefully raising this flag, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage may spend the next decade or more in prison in Indonesia.
Mohammed Mohammed Hassan Odaini remains detained in Guantanamo despite being cleared for release over 2 years ago. Odaini was detained in March 2002 along with several other Yemeni nationals, and sent to the detention camp at the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In June 2005 he was deemed suitable for release from Guantanamo, yet he continues to be unjustly detained. He has not been interrogated for nearly two years and the reason for his continued detention is unclear.
Academic and dual Iran-U.S. national Kian Tajbakhsh was arrested at his home in Tehran on 9 July. Kian Tajbakhsh, a 47-year-old social scientist who taught urban policy at the New School University in New York and who previously consulted for George Soros' Open Society Institute, was arrested on the night of 9 July by agents of the Security Police. PDF format | RTF format
President Obama and a number of members of Congress have resisted full accountability for torture, and have endorsed indefinite detention and unfair military commissions. There is an alternative: call on President Obama and Congress to respect human rights. PDF format | RTF format
Student leader Majid Tavakkoli, a member of the Islamic Students Association, was arrested on December 7 after he gave a speech at a demonstration at Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran, marking Student Day. He was reportedly beaten during his arrest. His current whereabouts are unknown and it is feared he is being held in incommunicado detention, where he would be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
