A briefing paper published by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) yesterday documents how governments in Europe, Central Asia and North America have called into question and circumvented the prohibition on torture and ill-treatment in their efforts to counter terrorism. (15-NOV-06)

Based on IHF-s press release, distributed in a newsletter from the Human Rights Education Associates, this article has been prepared for publication by HRH-F / Niels Jacob Harbitz.

IHF Press release

Vienna 14 November 2006. A briefing paper published by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) today documents how governments in Europe, Central Asia and North America have called into question and circumvented the prohibition on torture and ill-treatment in their efforts to counter terrorism.

International law establishes an absolute prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, which is without exception in any circumstances. In the post-September 11 period, this fundamental human rights principle has been openly challenged in ways previously unseen. While governments of established democracies have called for a rethinking of old rules in the face of the threat of terrorism, governments of more authoritarian countries have exploited the fight against terrorism to continue and worsen abusive policies.

“Circumventing the ban on torture and ill-treatment in the name of enhancing security is illegal and diminishes respect for human dignity,” stated Aaron Rhodes, IHF Executive Director. “Any admission of abusive practices is the beginning of a slippery slope toward the uncontrollable and systematic use of torture and ill-treatment and constitutes a security threat to all,” he continued.

The briefing paper reviews developments in four areas:
* torture and ill-treatment in the interrogation and treatment of terrorist suspects;
* the use of evidence extracted under torture in terrorism-related proceedings;
* transfers and returns of terrorist suspects to countries where they are at risk of abuse; and
* “disappearances” and secret detentions in the counter-terrorism campaign.

Among others, the US government has violated international standards in its counter-terrorism efforts by authorizing abusive interrogation techniques, abducting and transferring purported terrorists to countries with notorious records of torture, holding terrorist suspects in secret detention facilities for prolonged periods of time and allowing military commissions established to try alleged terrorists to use evidence obtained under coercion.

In the context of the purported “anti-terrorism operation” conducted by the Russian government in the Chechen Republic and neighboring republics, federal and local law enforcement officials continue to engage in kidnappings, unacknowledged detention, “disappearances,” brutal torture, fabrication of criminal cases using forced confessions and extra-judicial executions with little or no accountability. The Russian government insists that this operation is part of the international “war on terrorism.” (1)

The Uzbek authorities have used the May 2005 massacre in Andijan, which they blamed on “religious extremists,” as a pretext to reinforce their long-standing campaign against independently practicing Muslims. In this campaign, in which no distinction has been made between those advocating violence and those peacefully exercising their beliefs, torture has been routinely used to extract confessions and such confessions have frequently served as the sole basis for guilty verdicts handed down in trials conducted in gross violation of international standards.

The briefing paper calls for renewed commitment to the prohibition on torture and ill-treatment in the continued fight against terrorism and makes a number of recommendations to states for how to ensure that their counter-terrorism policies are consistent with this ban. The recommendations are based on an examination of international standards and case law relating to torture.

The briefing paper is available at the IHF website at http://www.ihf-hr.org

For more information:
Aaron Rhodes, IHF Executive Director, +43-(0)1-408 88 22 or +43-(676)-6356612
Henriette Schroeder, press officer, +43-676-725 48 29

The briefing paper was prepared within the framework of the IHF yearly campaign 2006, which is devoted to the topic of counter-terrorism measures and human rights, with emphasis on measures undermining the absolute ban on torture. It is also a contribution to a seminar on counter-terrorism measures and human rights, which the IHF is organizing in cooperation with the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and the Rehabilitation and Research Centre on Torture Victims in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 17 November.

(1) For a recent overview of torture problems in the Chechen Republic, see also Human Rights Watch, Widespread Torture in the Chechen Republic – Briefing Paper for the 37th Session UN Committee against Torture, 13 November 2006, at http://hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/chechnya1106/