Global Torture Index

In the media

Swissinfo (Switzerland): "Silence, threats, burnout – challenges for human rights defenders in times of war"

In the Media 7

The Geneva-based World Organization against Torture (OMCT) cooperates with the NGO and provides financial support for their psychological and therapeutic retreats.

Deutsche Welle (Germany): "Turkey tops renewed spike in European incarceration rate"

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According to the World Organization Against Torture, Turkey's incarceration rate rose by 89.3% between 2011 and 2021. The next highest incarceration levels were reported in Georgia (256), Azerbaijan (244), Moldova (242) and Hungary (211). The lowest rates were seen in Finland (52), the Netherlands (52), Norway (55) and Germany (69).

BBC (UK): "Polls close in Bangladesh general election"

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Let's cross now to Delphine Reculeau, Director of the OMCT SOS-Torture Network, to discuss the harassment faced by human rights representatives and other allegations against the authorities in Bangladesh.

Der Spiegel (Germany): "Does the EU Share Blame for Police Violence in Tunisia?"

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"Police officers are rarely prosecuted and even more rarely convicted," says Hélène Legeay of the Tunis office of the World Organisation Against Torture, which also provides support to victims of police violence. "If a court sentences a police officer to a harsh prison sentence, the sentence is never carried out."

Daily Mail (UK): "Migrants face 'daily institutional violence' in Tunisia: NGO"

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"Migrants and refugees are experiencing "daily institutional violence" in Tunisia, a key departure point for sub-Saharan Africans trying to reach Europe, the World Organisation Against Torture said Monday."

The Times (UK): "Inside El Salvador, the brutal prison state run by a Bitcoin bro"

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The next day I am invited to a conference organised by the World Organisation Against Torture at the San Salvador Sheraton. The last time I was at this hotel was in 1989: rebel fighters had stormed the building to take 25 guests hostage, including four US military advisers and several other Americans.

The Business Standard (Bangladesh): "OMCT urges govt to drop all charges against Odhikar leaders ahead of case verdict"

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"OMCT World Organisation Against Torture, has called on Bangladesh to stop harassing human rights defenders Adilur Rahman Khan and ASM Nasiruddin Elan and to drop all charges against them."

The Conversation: "Headlines and front lines: How US news coverage of wars in Yemen and Ukraine reveals a bias in recording civilian harm"

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"In contrast, the Saudi-led coalition’s blockade, despite being the primary driver of the famine and even equated to torture by the World Organisation Against Torture, was rarely afforded this intent. In fact, coverage of the hunger crisis often did not mention the coalition at all, such as in this March 31, 2021, headline: “Famine Stalks Yemen, as War Drags on and Foreign Aid Wanes.”"

Voice of America (US): "Civil Society Struggles for Freedom in Central Asia"

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"Earlier this month, several prominent human rights groups issued a joint statement urging lawmakers in Kyrgyzstan to reject a bill introduced by 33 legislators. The signatories included Human Rights Watch, the International Partnership for Human Rights, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, […], and the World Organization Against Torture."

Geneva Solutions (Switzerland): "UN torture body’s disappearing act for women"

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“The Convention defines torture very clearly as pain or suffering inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity,” said Carin Benninger-Budel, anti-torture programme director at the World Organization Against Torture, one of the Geneva-based NGOs to issue the statement.

The Hindu (India): "OMCT writes to Stalin on Ambasamudram custodial torture"

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"The OMCT is further informed that the Judicial Magistrate had not entered any of the injuries sustained by the survivors of torture produced before him on March 11, 2023. Neither were these injuries recorded by the medical officer of the Ambasamudram Government hospital,” OMCT Secretary-General Gerald Staberock said in his letter."

Radio Free Europe (US): "Rights Groups Call For 'Immediate' Release Of Tajik Lawyer Kholiknazarov"

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"World Organization Against Torture Secretary-General Gerald Staberock said in the joint statement issued on April 3 that Kholiqnazarov was a peaceful promoter of human rights and the rule of law in the region."

The Guardian (UK): "‘I feel I was raped’: six women in Barcelona seek justice after relationship with ‘spy cop’"

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"At the heart of the women’s legal challenge is the question of whether these women were able to provide free and informed consent, said Sònia Olivella, a lawyer with Barcelona-based rights group Irídia and part of the legal team representing the women."

Geneva Solutions (Switzerland): "‘One step forward is more important than two steps back’: pushing for women’s rights in Iran and Pakistan"

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"Mohajerin and Jilani were in Geneva for international women’s day for an event organised by OMCT. Geneva Solutions spoke to the activists about the challenges women face in their countries and the lessons they can draw from each other."

Deutsche Welle (Germany): "Algeria increases pressure on local human rights activists"

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"Several international human rights organizations based in France and Switzerland criticized the Algerian government's move. The World Organization against Torture, the International Federation for Human Rights and the League of Human Rights noted that the situation for human rights defenders in Algeria was deteriorating and that it was "more worrying than ever."

BBC (UK): "US immigration: 'They'd rather die than return to Nicaragua'"

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"In one week in early June alone, almost 200 civil society and non-governmental organisations were shut down in what the Paris-based Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders said was an attempt to eliminate "all social and political vision that differs from that established by the regime".

Deutsche Welle (Germany): "Violence in Chad: Demonstrators abducted and tortured"

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“Many human rights activists are on high alert. Isidore Ngueuleu is the senior human rights advisor for Africa region at the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT). He has gathered reports from the Abena neighborhood. He said that the school had been turned into a prison: "We have testimonies of families from these neighborhoods saying clearly that their children have been arrested in their house and taken to this school."”

Africa Rise & Shine (South Africa): "Chadian authorities accused of summary executions and torture"

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“A Geneva-based human rights group, the World Organization against Torture, has accused the Chadian authorities of summary executions and torture after 50 people died during clashes in the capital N'Djamena and the south.”

Geneva Solutions (Switzerland): "Libya: torture and killings of civilians by law enforcement ‘endemic’"

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“Libyan law enforcement agents and militias killed at least 581 civilians between January 2020 and March 2022 as organisations warn extrajudicial killings and torture have become “endemic” in the country.”

Middle East Monitor (UK): "Egypt: Calls to release human rights lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer after 3 years in prison"

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“The World Organisation against Torture is calling on the Egyptian government to release human rights lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer after he spent three years in prison. Mohamed is one of over 80 lawyers now in prison in Egypt as part of a widespread crackdown on human rights defenders.”