On 31 July 2012, CSPRI sent in the following submissions to Parliament on the Prevention and Combating of Torture of Persons Bill. These submissions represent the views of a group of organisations (listed in the document) and address, primarily, whether the contents of the Bill comply fully with the obligations imposed on the state in terms of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). These submissions also include recommendations on what the Bill should include and / or exclude as well as suggestions on how the text could be amended. CSPRI will be addressing the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development at the public hearings on 4 September 2012.
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Du Toit brothers arrested in 2002, found guilty in 2012.
The Minister of Justice, Mustapha Ramid, said that prisons in Morocco house nearly 65,000 prisoners, while their capacity is only 30 000.
Fair trials not provided by military courts; civilians released
Nearly 25,000 Comorians are deported from Mayotte each year, and only after enduring poor detention conditions, claims PressTV, Paris. In addition fatal boating accidents kill on average two people per day, claims the network.
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) has brought attention to the arrest and continued detention without charge by the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) between 23 June and 12 July 2012 in Khartoum of eleven human rights workers.
The Arab Program for Human Rights Activists condemned in a press release acts of the Sudanese authorities against demonstrations that took place in many parts of Sudan on Friday June 29. The organisation alleges security forces launched an arrest campaign against activists and media representatives, with many being detained in unknown locations.
Children are detained with adults and under the authority of prisoners' militias, in contravention of International Law, says the Swiss-based Terre des Hommes.
Human Rights Watch documents flawed processes, unlawful detentions, and dire conditions in South Sudan's prisons in report released on 21 June.
Police Chief Bheki Cele was fired by Mr Zuma on 12 June after the president received a report compiled by a board of inquiry chaired by retired Justice Jake Moloi.
June 6, 2012 marks the second anniversary of the death of 28-year-old Alexandrian Khaled Said, tortured to death by Egyptian police. His death lead to protests culminating in the toppling of Mubarak's regime. In October 2011, two Egyptian police officers were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years in prison for beating Said to death.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on 5 June 2012 called on the governments of the United States of America and The Gambia to disclose information about the whereabouts of missing Gambian journalist "Chief" Ebrima Manneh who has not been seen since his arrested on 11 July 2006 by the Gambia Police Force of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).