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Torture and inhumane treatment “still continuing” in Tunisian prisons

November 7, 2015 at 11:37 am

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) said on Friday that torture and inhumane treatment are still continuing in Tunisian prisons, Anadolu has reported.

In a discussion held on Friday under the title “Evasions of Punishment and Continuous Torture” a member of the OMCT, Mukhtar Tarifi, pointed out that a large number of torture cases in detention centres run by the interior ministry have been registered. Victims of “harsh treatment” have filed complaints with the organisation, he said.

Although the Tunisian government has refuted torture allegations on a number of occasions, it insists that certain cases remain “exceptional”. It has been working to establish the National Committee for the Protection from Torture, to include representatives of human rights groups, specialists in the social sector and protection of children, lawyers, judges and doctors.

According to Tarifi, the goal of his own organisation is to “prevent torture and maltreatment”. The OMCT called for the Tunisian authorities to stop torture, punish torturers, support the victims of torture and their families, and put an end to the policy of evading punishment.