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Folter in Sri Lanka weit verbreitet / Torture widely practiced in Sri Lanka

UN-Sonderberichterstatter: Auch die USA beteiligen sich an einer "systematischen Verletzung der Menschenrechte" / UN Special Rapporteur on torture: "The US is really engaging in systematic violation of human rights"

Am 31. Oktober erschien in The Sydney Morning Herald ein Artikel, der sich mit den Vorwürfen an die Adresse der USA und anderer Staaten befasste, bei der Verfolgung von vermeintlichen oder wirklichen Terroristen Foltermethoden anzuwenden. Ein Sprecher der Vereinten Nationen zitierte dabei den UN-Sonderberichterstatter Manfred Nowak, der verschiedene Fälle von vermuteter Folter untersucht. Manfred Nowak stellte den USA ein denkbar schlechtes Zeugnis aus. "Ich bin sehr darüber betroffen, dass bei Verhörmethoden in Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo und underswo, aber auch bei den Überstellungen und den geheim gehaltenen Gefängnisorten das absolute Folterverbot ausgehöhlt wird. All das untergräbt die Rechtsstaatlichkeit im allgemeinen und die Menschenrechte, aber auch das Folterverbot", sagte demnach Nowak.

Der Menschenrechts- und Folterbeauftragte sprach am 29. Oktober vor dem "Dritten Ausschuss", einem Ausschuss der Generalversammlung, der sich mit sozialen, humanitären und kulturellen Fragen befasst. Sein Hauptthema waren Vorwürfe und Anklagen, die gegen die Behörden in Sri Lanka erhoben wurden. Dort seien Foltermethoden im Kontext mit Antiterror-Maßnahmen zur "Routine" geworden, sagte Nowak. Beschuldigt wurden vor allem die Polizei und Armee Sri Lankas. Auch wenn die Regierung in Colombo die Vorwürfe abstreitet, blieb der UN-Berichterstatter auch nach der Sitzung gegenüber der Presse bei seiner Darstellung.

Im Folgenden dokumentieren wir einige Auszüge aus dem Artikel im Sydney Morning Herald sowie den Bericht über die Sitzung im "Dritten Ausschuss", in dem es vor allem um Sri Lanka geht (beides englisch).

US accused of torture

Ian Munro, Herald Correspondent in New York
October 31, 2007

Extracts

THE United States's willingness to resort to harsh interrogation techniques in its so-called war on terror undermined human rights and the international ban on torture, a United Nations spokesman says.

Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on torture, said the US's standing and importance meant it was a model to other countries which queried why they were subject to scrutiny when the US resorted to measures witnessed at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib prison.

Mr Nowak was speaking after releasing his finding that the use of torture was routine and widespread in Sri Lanka, despite laws against it.

"I am very concerned about the undermining of the absolute prohibition of torture by interrogation methods themselves in Abu Grahib, in Guantanamo Bay and others, but also by rendition and the whole CIA secret places of detention. All that is really undermining the international rule of law in general and human rights but also the prohibition of torture," said Mr Nowak.

"(Other countries) say why are you criticising us if the US, the most democratic country with the oldest history of human rights, if they are torturing you should first go there. It has a negative effect because the US is a very powerful and important country and many other countries take the US as a model."

His comments come amid continuing controversy over whether the use of waterboarding - which simulates drowning - is torture. US senators are threatening to stop the appointment of Michael Mukasey, President Bush's new nominee for Attorney-General, following Mr Mukasey's refusal to condemn waterboarding at judiciary committee hearings recently.

Reports have linked CIA interrogations of al-Qaeda suspects, including alleged 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to the technique.

Folter nach Vorschrift

Von Olaf Standke

Noch ist Michael Mukasey nicht im Amt, da werden schon Rücktrittsforderungen laut. Der designierte US-amerikanische Justizminister sollte nach den skandalösen Vorgängen um seinen Vorgänger eigentlich Ruhe in das für den »Antiterrorkrieg« der Bush-Regierung so wichtige Ressort bringen. Aber es sind vor allem seine Vorstellungen, wie dieser Kampf zu führen sei, die für Empörung sorgen. Denn die unterscheiden sich bei genauerem Hinsehen kaum von jenen des Alberto Gonzales, der u.a. wegen der Einführung »verschärfter Verhöre« in der Kritik stand. Mukasey weigere sich, das so genannte Waterboarding, bei dem das Opfer meint, ertrinken zu müssen, und andere grausame Methoden als Folter zu bezeichnen, so die Menschenrechtsorganisation »Human Rights Watch«. Sie rief jetzt den Senat auf, die Berufung des früheren Bundesrichters abzulehnen, und mehrere demokratische Senatoren werden dem Appell auch folgen. Das Problem ist: Nicht nur Mukasey fehlt jedes Unrechtsbewusstsein, er kann sich auf den Präsidenten berufen. Nach dessen Lesart sind simuliertes Ertränken, Schläge auf den Kopf, Schlafentzug oder Kälteschocks keine Folter, sondern Verhörmethoden, die zwar »hart«, aber zugleich »sicher, notwendig und legal« seien. In der Tat wird hier nach Vorschrift misshandelt. Für die entsprechenden Handbücher wurden auch die Erfahrungen aus den Konzentrationslagern in Nazi-Deutschland systematisch ausgewertet.

Aus: Neues Deutschland, 2. November 2007 (Kommentar)



President Bush has said the US does not restort to torture, but his administation has refused to say if waterboarding has been used. During waterboarding a cloth is used to cover a prisoner's mouth and water poured over it, triggering the gag reflex.

Commenting on his investigation into Sri Lanka, Mr Nowak said that the use of torture in counter-terrorism operations was prone to become routine.

(...)

Mr Nowak said that Italy and Germany had shown in the 1970s and 1980s that terrorism could be beaten within the rule of law.

"Certain human rights such as the prohibition on torture are absolute. It doesn't matter how dangerous a person is, governments have an absolute obligation never to resort to torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment," said Mr Nowak.

"In my opinion, this ill-conceived, security oriented counter terrorism strategy is having a very, very negative effect, not only on human rights in the USA, but for the first time I would say in a long period of time, the US is really engaging in systematic violation of human rights, but also a very negative effect on many other countries."
(...)

* Auszüge aus: The Sydney Morning Herald; www.smh.com.au

Torture widely practiced in Sri Lanka, says UN human rights expert

29 October 2007 – An independent United Nations human rights expert said today that although Sri Lanka has measures in place to prevent torture, the brutal practice is widespread and “prone to become routine in the context of counter-terrorism operations.”

“The high number of indictments for torture filed by the Attorney General’s Office, the number of successful fundamental rights cases decided by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, as well as the high number of complaints that the National Human Rights Commission continues to receive on an almost daily basis indicates that torture is widely practiced in Sri Lanka,” Manfred Nowak told the General Assembly committee dealing with social, humanitarian and cultural issues, known as the Third Committee.

“This practice is prone to become routine in the context of counter-terrorism operations,” Mr. Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, added.

Mr. Nowak said that during the course of his visit to the country from 1 to 8 October, he received “numerous consistent and credible allegations” > from detainees who reported that they were ill-treated by the police to extract confessions, or to obtain information in relation to other criminal offences. Similar allegations were received with respect to the army.

In an effort to criminalize torture and bring perpetrators to justice, the Government enacted the 1994 Torture Act. While the significant number of indictments filed under the Act was encouraging, Mr. Nowak decried the fact that only three people have so far been convicted.

“Given the high standards of proof applied by the Supreme Court in torture related cases, it is regrettable that the facts established do not trigger more convictions by criminal courts,” he stated.

While the Government does not agree that torture is widely practiced, “I’m convinced and I think I have enough evidence for that,” Mr. Nowak told reporters after his address to the committee.

He said he found “overwhelming evidence that torture is routine” at a detention facility run by the Terrorist Investigation Department at Boossa, near Galle.

In addition, “serious incidence of corporal punishment” was discovered at Bogambara, the main prison in Kandy, even though that practice was recently abolished by law. The Government has stated it will investigate those cases and dismiss those responsible. “In my opinion they should be dismissed and also brought to justice under Sri Lankan criminal law,” Mr. Nowak said.

The Special Rapporteur also highlighted the problem of overcrowded prisons, one of the main reasons for which is the high number of pre-trial detainees in the prisons than actual convicted prisoners. There are some 28,000 people being held in prisons that have the capacity to hold 8,200.

Mr. Nowak added that the most serious allegations of human rights violations, including torture, relate to the ongoing conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). But he noted that he was not in a position to speak about that since he was not able to visit detention facilities in army camps or those run by the LTTE.

In addition to Sri Lanka, Mr. Nowak has visited Paraguay, Nigeria and Togo in the last year. He is scheduled to visit Indonesia next month and Equatorial Guinea and Iraq early next year.

Quelle: UN-News Center, 29. Oktober 2007; www.un.org




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