{UAH} HAVE YOU OR HAS SOMEONE YOU KNOW BEEN TORTURED WHILE IN CUSTODY?

HAVE YOU OR HAS SOMEONE YOU KNOW BEEN TORTURED WHILE IN CUSTODY?

It is very degrading. Isn't it? Some victims are raped, made to sleep in very cold cells without any bed or blanket, submerged under water, burnt with plastic, some are starved name it but a few. Most of these people either die or a traumatized for the rest of their lives. Most of these victims do not report such torture either because of ignorance or because of the fact that the organs like the Police which ought to protect them are the pioneers of this abuse of Human Rights.

Well fear not. The law is there to protect you.

Torture is defined to mean any act or omission by which severe intentional physical or mental injury is inflicted on an individual in custody or by a private individual for the purposes of obtaining information or a confession. A conclusive definition is given under S.2 of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, 2012.
The right to freedom against torture is guaranteed under the Article 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995 and is among the non derogable rights of Natural Justice as further espoused by S.3 of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, 2012.

So who commits torture?

Inflicting torture on any one amounts to a crime as established by S.4 of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, 2012. This crime is aggravated when the offender uses sex as torture, tortures a person with disability, uses or threatens to use a deadly weapon and all the other circumstances listed under S. 5 of the aforementioned Act.

Those who procure, aid and abet, solicit, order or fund torture and accessories before and after the torture are as well guilty of the offence as established by S.8 of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, 2012. So if the person was tortured while in Police Custody, the law presumes that such a person was tortured with the authority of the Officer in Charge of the Station, the District Police Commander and all other officers of higher ranks in command.

What remedies are available to the victim?

The person tortured has a right to complain to either the Police or the Uganda Human Rights Commission. This right is established by S. 11 of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, 2012.

The victim may also institute criminal proceedings against the person suspected to have tortured him or her. Criminal proceedings here may be instituted by the Police, Public prosecution or a private prosecutor as established by S. 12 of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, 2012.

The jurisdiction to try offences of torture is vested in the Chief Magistrate's Court by S. 17 of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, 2012.

Next time you or someone you know is tortured by uncultured Army officers or Police officers, you now know what to do against such Human Rights abuse.

Disclaimer
This brief is by no way an exhaustive discussion of the law against torture

--

Allaah gives the best to those who leave the choice to Him."And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things." (6:17)

--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ugandans at Heart (UAH) Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ugandans-at-heart/CAJqBGGdQJXPikqUEs6H_tXk5DyaPGmdu16jaaWkiPuYqAUdWZA%40mail.gmail.com.