UN vows to bring torture perpetrators to justice

UN vows to bring torture perpetrators to justice

 Pillay asserted that the message was for one and all regardless of status or position maintaining that those who exercised torture must be held accountable for violation of non-humanitarian actions

She added in a statement during the International Day for tortured Victims that “torture is a very serious crime in fact it’s just as appalling as war crimes and genocide against humanity. The High Commissioner urged the governments, UN and non-governmental organizations “to embody this message with firm acts”. She also stressed that “no individual guilty of torture should benefit from any amnesty law protection since this is a basic principle of international justice.”

 Pillay expressed her concern where   some countries continue to use amnesty laws allowing torturers to avoid being tried even after the rulers they served have changed. She ascertained that some democratic regimes abuse the law protecting those responsible in torturing victims and refuse to compensate the victims or their families. The Commissioner stressed on the escalating number of prosecutions against perpetrators of torture every year, compared to incidents reported in Chile and Argentina during the 70s and 80s.

In a related issue, Egypt is currently witnessing unprecedented widespread protests and demonstrations throughout the country on the backdrop of the murder of Khaled Said who was tortured and beaten by plain clothes police from the Sidi Gaber police station in Alexandria .