Latest news with #humanrightsorganizations
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- The Guardian
Kilmar Ábrego García was tortured in Salvadorian prison, court filing alleges
Kilmar Ábrego García, the Maryland man who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and detained in one of that country's most notorious prisons, was physically and psychologically tortured during the three months he spent in Salvadorian custody, according to new court documents filed Wednesday. While being held at the so-called Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) in El Salvador, Ábrego García and 20 other men 'were forced to kneel from approximately 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM', according to the court papers filed by his lawyers in the federal district court in Maryland. Guards struck anyone who fell from exhaustion while kneeling, and during that time, 'Ábrego García was denied bathroom access and soiled himself', according to the filing. Detainees were held in an overcrowded cell with no windows, and bright lights on 24 hours a day. They were confined to metal bunk beds with no mattresses. Ábrego García's testimony is one of the first detailed insights the world has into the conditions inside Cecot, a megaprison that human rights groups say is designed to disappear people. His lawyers say he lost 31 pounds during his first two weeks of confinement. Later, they write, he and four others were transferred to a different part of the prison 'where they were photographed with mattresses and better food–photos that appeared to be staged to document improved conditions'. The filings also note that officials within the prison acknowledged that Ábrego García was not a gang member, and that his tattoos did not indicate a gang affiliation. 'Prison officials explicitly acknowledged that plaintiff Ábrego García's tattoos were not gang-related, telling him 'your tattoos are fine,'' per the filing, and they kept him in a cell separate from those accused of gang membership. The prison officials, however, threatened to move Ábrego García into a cell with gang members whom officials said 'would 'tear' him apart'. Ábrego García is currently in federal custody in Nashville. The Trump administration brought him back from El Salvador after initially claiming it was powerless to do so. The US justice department wants him to stand trial on human-smuggling charges. The administration has also accused him of being a member of the street gang MS-13, and Donald Trump has claimed that Ábrego García's tattoos indicate that he belonged to the gang. Ábrego García has pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges, which his attorneys have characterized as an attempt to justify the administration's mistake in deporting him after the fact. On Sunday , a Tennessee judge ordered his release while his criminal case plays out, but prosecutors said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) would take Ábrego García into custody if that were to happen and he would be deported before he was given the chance to stand trial. A justice department lawyer, Jonathan Guynn, also told a federal judge in Maryland that the administration would deport Ábrego García not to El Salvador but to another, third country – contradicting statements from attorney general Pam Bondi that he would be sent to El Salvador. Amid the confusion, Ábrego García's lawyers requested that their client remain in criminal custody, fearing that if he were released, he would be deported. Upcoming hearings in both Maryland and Tennessee will help decide whether Ábrego García will be able to remain in the US and be released from jail.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- The Guardian
Kilmar Ábrego García was tortured in Salvadorian prison, court filing alleges
Kilmar Ábrego García, the Maryland man who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and detained in one of that country's most notorious prisons, was physically and psychologically tortured during the three months he spent in Salvadorian custody, according to new court documents filed Wednesday. While being held at the so-called Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) in El Salvador, Ábrego García and 20 other men 'were forced to kneel from approximately 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM', according to the court papers filed by his lawyers in the federal district court in Maryland. Guards struck anyone who fell from exhaustion while kneeling, and during that time, 'Ábrego García was denied bathroom access and soiled himself', according to the filing. Detainees were held in an overcrowded cell with no windows, and bright lights on 24 hours a day. They were confined to metal bunk beds with no mattresses. Ábrego García's testimony is one of the first detailed insights the world has into the conditions inside Cecot, a megaprison that human rights groups say is designed to disappear people. His lawyers say he lost 31 pounds during his first two weeks of confinement. Later, they write, he and four others were transferred to a different part of the prison 'where they were photographed with mattresses and better food–photos that appeared to be staged to document improved conditions'. The filings also note that officials within the prison acknowledged that Ábrego García was not a gang member, and that his tattoos did not indicate a gang affiliation. 'Prison officials explicitly acknowledged that plaintiff Ábrego García's tattoos were not gang-related, telling him 'your tattoos are fine,'' per the filing, and they kept him in a cell separate from those accused of gang membership. The prison officials, however, threatened to move Ábrego García into a cell with gang members whom officials said 'would 'tear' him apart'. Ábrego García is currently in federal custody in Nashville. The Trump administration brought him back from El Salvador after initially claiming it was powerless to do so. The US justice department wants him to stand trial on human-smuggling charges. The administration has also accused him of being a member of the street gang MS-13, and Donald Trump has claimed that Ábrego García's tattoos indicate that he belonged to the gang. Ábrego García has pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges, which his attorneys have characterized as an attempt to justify the administration's mistake in deporting him after the fact. On Sunday , a Tennessee judge ordered his release while his criminal case plays out, but prosecutors said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) would take Ábrego García into custody if that were to happen and he would be deported before he was given the chance to stand trial. A justice department lawyer, Jonathan Guynn, also told a federal judge in Maryland that the administration would deport Ábrego García not to El Salvador but to another, third country – contradicting statements from attorney general Pam Bondi that he would be sent to El Salvador. Amid the confusion, Ábrego García's lawyers requested that their client remain in criminal custody, fearing that if he were released, he would be deported. Upcoming hearings in both Maryland and Tennessee will help decide whether Ábrego García will be able to remain in the US and be released from jail.
BBC News
30-06-2025
- BBC News
Uproar over sexual assault in Bangladesh after video spreads online
Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing A video of a woman being sexually assaulted has caused nationwide uproar in Bangladesh, after the clip was shared widely woman, who has been interviewed by local media, says she was raped at her father's house last Thursday. The clip shows several people at the have arrested five people, including the alleged rapist, and authorities have said they will investigate the case "with utmost seriousness".Protests broke out across the country over the weekend after the clip was circulated, and several human rights groups have demanded severe punishment for those involved. The survivor was visiting her father's home in central Bangladesh's Cumilla district when a neighbour broke in and assaulted her, according to woman, who is from a Hindu minority community, gave interviews to several local outlets saying the accused "entered the house with bad intentions and tortured her".Police have named the main suspect as 36-year-old Fazor Ali, adding that he was hospitalised after being beaten up by members of the public on the night of the incident. The man sustained injuries on his arms and legs which prevented him from showing up in court on Sunday, police other four people were arrested for filming and circulating videos of the assault, police human rights groups are calling for a swift investigation, with some saying the incident is the latest in a series of cases of violence against women where justice was delayed or perpetrators were granted impunity."If a woman is not safe in her own home and identity, it represents a serious failure of the state and a breakdown in security," Ain O Salish Kendra, a national legal aid and human rights organisation, said in a statement on organisation further urged that "the state must send a clear and firm message that such barbarity has no place in this country".Another Dhaka-based group, Manusher Jonno Foundation, condemned those who filmed and distributed the clip, saying they inflicted a "second assault" on the authorities have said the case will be dealt with swiftly."Like ordinary citizens, we are also deeply shocked by the rape. Our home ministry has taken immediate action," the country's law adviser Asif Nazrul said in a media briefing on Sunday. "The prime accused, along with those involved in spreading photos of the incident, a highly irresponsible and criminal act, have all been arrested."Earlier this year, an eight-year-old child who was raped in Bangladesh died of her injuries, setting off fierce protests around the protesters at the time demanded that the government expedite justice for rape victims and reform laws related to women and children's also called for greater clarity around the legal definitions of what constitutes rape in Bangladesh, which they said were currently ambiguous.
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
More than 200 Ukrainian POWs have died in Russian prisons. This is one soldier's story.
More than 200 Ukrainian POWs have died in Russian prisons since Moscow's full-scale invasion three years ago. Officials from human rights groups, the U.N. and the Ukrainian government say torture, starvation and inadequate health care were likely contributing factors in many of these deaths. These officials say the prison deaths add to evidence that Russia is systematically brutalizing POWs. And they believe that forensic discrepancies between Russian and Ukrainian autopsies, and the repatriation of bodies that are badly mutilated and decomposed, point to an effort by Russia to cover up systematic mistreatment. Russian authorities did not respond to requests for comment. But they have previously accused Ukraine of mistreating Russian POWs — allegations the U.N. has partially backed up. More than 200 Ukrainian POWs have died in Russian prisons. This is one soldier's story. More than 200 Ukrainian POWs have died in Russian prisons since Moscow's full-scale invasion three years ago. Officials from human rights groups, the U.N. and the Ukrainian government say torture, starvation and inadequate health care were likely contributing factors in many of these deaths. These officials say the prison deaths add to evidence that Russia is systematically brutalizing POWs. And they believe that forensic discrepancies between Russian and Ukrainian autopsies, and the repatriation of bodies that are badly mutilated and decomposed, point to an effort by Russia to cover up systematic mistreatment. Russian authorities did not respond to requests for comment. But they have previously accused Ukraine of mistreating Russian POWs — allegations the U.N. has partially backed up.
