The 22-page report, “‘They Threw Me in the Water and Beat Me’: The Need for Accountability for Torture in Rwanda,” documents torture and ill-treatment by prison officials and detainees in Nyarugenge prison in the capital, Kigali; in Rubavu prison, western Rwanda; and in an unofficial detention facility in Kigali known as Kwa Gacinya. Human Rights Watch found that judges ignored complaints from current and former detainees about the unlawful detention and ill-treatment, creating an environment of near-total impunity.
US-Led Abuse and Rendition of Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya
This report is based on interviews conducted in Libya with 14 former detainees, most of whom belonged to an armed Islamist group that had worked to overthrow Gaddafi for 20 years. Many members of the group, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), joined the NATO-backed anti-Gaddafi rebels in the 2011 conflict.
Arbitrary Arrests, Torture, and Enforced Disappearances in Syria’s Underground Prisons since March 2011
This report is based on more than 200 interviews conducted by Human Rights Watch since the beginning of anti-government demonstrations in Syria in March 2011. The report includes maps locating the detention facilities, video accounts from former detainees, and sketches of torture techniques described by numerous people who witnessed or experienced torture in these facilities.
Kenyan Police and Military Abuses against Ethnic Somalis
This report provides detailed documentation of human rights abuses by the Kenya Defence Forces and the Kenyan police in apparent response to a series of grenade and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks that targeted both the security forces and civilians in North Eastern province.
Torture, the Failure of Habeas Corpus, and the Silencing of Lawyers in Uzbekistan
This report provides rare first-hand evidence of wide-scale human rights abuses in the isolated country, from which United Nations human rights experts have been banned for almost a decade. In Uzbekistan, human rights activists are languishing in prison and independent civil society is ruthlessly suppressed.
Enforced Disappearances by Pakistan Security Forces in Balochistan
The 132-page report documents dozens of enforced disappearances, in which the authorities take people into custody and then deny all responsibility or knowledge of their fate or whereabouts. The report details 45 alleged cases of enforced disappearances, the majority in 2009 and 2010.
Killings, Disappearances, and Impunity in the Philippines
This 96-page report details strong evidence of military involvement in seven killings and three enforced disappearances of leftist activists since President Benigno Aquino III took office on June 30, 2010.
Convict Porters on the Front Lines in Eastern Burma
This 70-page report details abuses against convict porters including summary executions, torture, and the use of the convicts as “human shields.” The military should stop forcibly recruiting prisoners as porters and mistreating them, and those responsible for ordering or participating in such treatment should be prosecuted, Human Rights Watch and the Karen Human Rights Group said.
The Bush Administration and Mistreatment of Detainees
This 107-page report presents substantial information warranting criminal investigations of Bush and senior administration officials, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and CIA Director George Tenet, for ordering practices such as “waterboarding,” the use of secret CIA prisons, and the transfer of detainees to countries where they were tortured.
Continued Human Rights Abuses by Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion
This 53-page report documents abuses by RAB in and around Dhaka, the capital, under the current Awami League-led government. Nearly 200 people have been killed in RAB operations since January 6, 2009, when the government assumed office.
This 47-page report examines the legal and practical questions surrounding the case and concludes that Haiti has an obligation under international law to investigate and prosecute the grave violations of human rights under Duvalier's rule.
Torture and Illegal Detention by Uganda’s Rapid Response Unit
The 59-page report documents the unit’s illegal methods of investigation and serious violations of the rights of the people it arrests and detains. The unit has a history of violent and unlawful operations since it was formed by President Yoweri Museveni in 2002 as Operation Wembley, an ad-hoc security entity commanded by an active member of the Ugandan military.
This report examines the lack of justice in several illustrative cases of political killings, torture, and abductions by government security forces and their allies during and after the presidential election run-off in 2008.
Human Rights in Iraq Eight Years after the US-Led Invasion
This 102-page report calls on the government to protect the rights of vulnerable groups and to amend its penal code and all other laws that discriminate against women and violate freedom of speech. The report also urges Baghdad to open independent and impartial investigations into all allegations of abuse against detainees, minorities, and journalists.
Arbitrary Detention and Torture of Terrorism Suspects in India
This 106-page report documents consistent abuse by Indian security forces in their response to the scourge of terrorism attacks. State police, jail officials, and other authorities have committed a range of human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, and religious discrimination.
Intelligence Cooperation with Countries that Torture
The 62-page report analyzes the ongoing cooperation by the governments of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom with foreign intelligence services in countries that routinely use torture. The three governments use the resulting foreign torture information for intelligence and policing purposes. Torture is prohibited under international law, with no exceptions allowed.
