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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL STATEMENT ON POLICE BRUTALITY IN SWAZILAND

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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement
AI Index: AFR 55/001/2006 (Public)
News Service No: 017

20 January 2006
Swaziland: Persistent failure to call police to account

Amnesty International today renewed its call on the government of Swaziland
to take immediate and visible steps to prevent the torture and unlawful
killing of crime suspects and political opponents by the police.

In a letter to the Head of State, King Mswati III, Amnesty International
expressed its concern that the government's failure to act against torture
is persisting, contrary to the obligations of Swaziland under international
and regional human rights treaties it has ratified and contrary to the new
Constitution's Bill of Rights. The alleged torture of some of the detainees
currently facing trial for treason is one more manifestation of the
consequences of the government's long-standing failure to make the police
accountable for their actions.

In failing to take measures to prevent torture or ill-treatment, to
promptly
and impartially investigate reports of torture or ill-treatment, or to
bring
suspected perpetrators to justice, the government is repeatedly ignoring
the
new Constitution's Bill of Rights, the findings of independent experts and
coroners, the criticisms of police conduct made by judicial officials at
trials, and court judgments upholding the claims for redress lodged by
victims of human rights violations. It is also ignoring appeals made by
civil society organizations for police conduct to be consistent with
international human rights standards.

The government has also not followed through on assurances given to Amnesty
International by the Prime Minister, the Hon. Absalom T Dlamini, during a
meeting in February 2005 in London when he acknowledged that incidents of
police brutality were occurring. He stated that the government would act on
the recommendations -- then just released -- from the Coroner, who had
investigated the death in custody of Mandlenkhosi Ngubeni. The Coroner
found
evidence that Mandlenkhosi Ngubeni and others with him had been subjected
to
torture involving suffocation methods. To Amnesty International's
knowledge,
no further investigations or prosecutions of suspected perpetrators have
been carried out; on the contrary, the government has denied any liability
for Mr Ngubeni's death in the civil case brought by the family.

In its letter, Amnesty International acknowledged to the King that his
government has an obligation to protect public safety and investigate
crime,
including the series of petrol bombings of government infrastructure in
late
2005. It made a similar acknowledgement in a letter to the Prime Minister
on
16 December 2005. However Amnesty International emphasised that the fact
that those incidents had caused injuries and property damage did not give
the government and police carte blanche to flout the prohibition against
torture in the new Constitution and under human rights treaties. The
prohibition against torture or ill-treatment under international human
rights law is absolute. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, including
state of war or public emergency, can be invoked as a justification of
torture or other ill-treatment.

Despite these obligations the government of Swaziland has failed to subject
policing to a regime of rigorous oversight; systematic, prompt and
impartial
investigation of complaints; or the prosecution of police officers
suspected
of torture, gross negligence and unlawful killings. As a consequence of
these failings, the police have been encouraged to act with recklessness
and
a sense of impunity in the conduct of their criminal investigations. As
such, the human rights of all Swazis are being left unprotected.

In the wave of arrests since December, which led to the detention and
charging of 16 people with treason and attempted murder in connection with
the bombings, the police have allegedly tortured some of the detainees, so
severely as to cause injuries -- fatal injuries in one case. Some of the
allegations against the police have been made in open court, causing at
least one magistrate to order the police to refer the victim to hospital
for
examination and treatment. The torture used included suffocation methods
("tubing"), which had been condemned by the Coroner in her findings in the
Mandlenkhosi Ngubeni case 12 months earlier. Yet there are no visible
indications that the government has ordered an independent, impartial and
publicly-accountable inquiry into these claims. Nor do they appear to have
ordered a Coroner's inquiry into the death of a young woman detainee,
Fikile
Fakudze, shortly after her release from police custody.

Amnesty International expressed concern to the King that evidence elicited
as a result of torture or ill-treatment may be used by the trial court that
will hear the case against the 16 accused. International law requires that
any evidence -- including confessions by the accused -- elicited as a
result
of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment must not be used
in any proceedings except those brought against the alleged perpetrators.
Furthermore, as stated by the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, "where
allegations of torture or other forms of ill-treatment are raised by a
defendant during trial, the burden of proof should shift to the prosecution
to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the confession was not obtained by
unlawful means, including torture and similar ill-treatment."

In Amnesty International's letters to the King and the Prime Minister, the
organization commended the actions of a senior police officer who had
helped
uphold the internationally recognized rights of the family of a young man,
Charles Mabuza, who was unlawfully killed by police in May 2005. Police at
the time blamed the deceased's brother for his death. The official
post-mortem examination was conducted hastily and under pressure from
police, without any recognition of the family's right to information and to
have its own representative present at the procedure. Several days later,
the senior police officer acted to ensure that the family, through their
legal representative, could arrange for the holding of a second post-mortem
examination by an independent medical specialist. The result of that second
examination showed that the police were responsible for the death of
Charles
Mabuza. To Amnesty International's knowledge, the government has yet to
bring to justice those responsible for his death or ensure that the family
receives fair and adequate compensation.

Finally, Amnesty International appealed to the King and his government to
condemn unambiguously acts of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment, as well as unlawful killings by the police, and to
ensure that they conduct their operations in a manner consistent with
Swaziland's obligations to promote and protect human rights. In taking
these
steps the government will also be acting more effectively to protect public
safety.

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