Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch denounces use of sex slaves in conflict

Armed groups in the Central African Republic have used rape and sexual slavery as a tactic of war across the country during nearly five years of conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The report named “They Said We Are Their Slaves”, Sexual Violence by Armed Groups in the Central African Republic, documents 305 cases of rape and sexual slavery carried out against 296 women and girls by members of armed groups. These groups are the Muslim Seleka and the Christian and animist militia Anti-balaka. It seems that they have used sexual violence as revenge for perceived support of those on the other side. The two main camps (Muslim Seleka militia and Christian anti-Balaka militias) used sexual violence.

Human Rights Watch: Torture a widespread practice under Sisi

Published on 7 Settembre 2017 in AFRICA/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by pressrelease

Torture is standardized practice under president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to a report issued by the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday morning. The investigation is based on interviews with people who were subjected to torture between 2014 and 2016.In a statement also issued on Wednesday, HRW writes that the 63-page report “documents how security forces, particularly officers of the Interior Ministry’s National Security Agency, use torture to force suspects to confess or divulge information, or to punish them”. It notes that the practice has become more widespread since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. According to HRW, torture techniques included beatings, electrocution, stress positions and sometimes rape. According to the interviewees, torture sessions usually begin with electric shocks and slapping, while the detainee is blindfolded, handcuffed and stripped naked. If detainees refuse to cooperate, the strength and duration of the electric shocks increase, and hot water is thrown on them if they lose consciousness.

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