Eritrea’s support of torture
Posted: 8 July, 2014 Filed under: Thato Motaung | Tags: Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Eritrea, Eritrean government, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, International Convention Against Torture, military, punishment, torture, United Nations, United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Universal Periodic Review Leave a comment
Author: Thato Motaung
Researcher, Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
Day in Support of Victims of Torture: 26 June 2014
It is called the “helicopter”. You are stripped, hands and feet bound and tied to a tree, hanging or raised above the ground so you are forced to stand on your toes for hours on end. With hands still bound to the tree you are then forced to the ground to endure up to 24 hours of the unbearably hot sun and cold night, desperately willing your punisher to have mercy. If you are lucky the punisher will allow you a short break for meals or to use the toilet.
What human being deserves this?
Torture is defined by the United Nations as: “Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person…”
[The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, 1984]
We are told there is never a justification for inflicting torture, degrading treatment or punishment on a human being. The Eritrean government, conveniently not party to this Convention, disregards this absolute prohibition – and as a result torture, both physical and psychological, is widespread in Eritrea.
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