Burundi: Torture used to extract confessions and crush dissent
Beatings with iron bars and acid burns are among an array of torture
techniques used by Burundian security forces to extract “confessions”
and silence dissent, according to a new Amnesty International briefing
published today.
In a briefing titled “Just tell me what to confess to”: Torture and ill-treatment by Burundi’s police and intelligence service since April 2015,Amnesty
International has documented chilling testimonies of victims of torture
and other ill-treatment at the hands of security forces. The briefing
highlights a spike in the use of torture in Burundi since April 2015.
“The testimonies we received are as devastating as they are
disturbing since torture and other ill-treatment are prohibited both by
Burundi’s Constitution and by international and regional treaties
Burundi is party to,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy
Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.
