A digital media freedom advocacy group has dismissed the Interior Ministry’s response to recent incidents of fatal torture of detainees as illogical.
The Interior Ministry has been subjected to mounting criticism over the past month as several incidents of custody deaths were reported with policemen being accused as the perpetrators.
The Interior Ministry denies practicing systematic torture against detainees, labelling the alleged incidents as "individual" occurrences.
The ministry has responded to accusations against its officers by calling them “totally illogical,” according to HRDO Center’s latest report on alleged police torture during November.
“The ministry announced the formation of panels supervised by the National Security Authority to prevent such incidents from recurring, which is totally illogical since that authority is specifically responsible for most torture cases, especially those involving political opponents,” said the center, which counted eight deaths caused by alleged police torture in prisons.
“The ministry had also formed monitoring watchdogs to supervise officers' performance and prevent violations by them, and may also relocate officers accused of torture to other provinces,” said the center.
The center urged the Interior Ministry to commit to constitutional and international stipulations concerning the treatment of prisoners and detainees, and to refer officers involved in torture to urgent trial. It also recommended to make sure police officers are qualifies and able to treat citizens according to human rights standards.
