The Jim Bakker Show

Victims of Mexico military abuses shudder at new security law

Activists hold a protest against a law that militarises crime fighting in the country outside the Senate in Mexico City, Mexico December 14, 2017. Placards read, "No to the Militarisation in the Country". Picture taken December 14, 2017.

By Lizbeth Diaz

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Human rights activist Juan Carlos Soni fears a new security law passed by Mexico’s Congress on Friday could mean his death after he suffered beatings, electrocution and abduction at the hands of the armed forces four years ago.

Bucking widespread protests from rights groups, Congress approved the Law of Internal Security, which will formally regulate the deployment of the military in Mexico more than a decade after the government dispatched it to fight drug cartels.

Proponents of the law argue it is needed to delimit the armed forces’ role in combating crime, while critics fear it will enshrine their purview, encouraging greater impunity and abuses in a country where justice is often notoriously weak.

Multiple human rights groups and international organizations, including the United Nations, attacked the bill, mindful of the dozens of reported cases of abuses by members of the military in Mexico over the past 11 years.

Soni, 46, a teacher from the central state of San Luis Potosi, whose case was documented by Mexico’s national human rights commission, related how in 2013 he was detained, blindfolded and tortured by marines after being warned by them to stop looking into alleged rights abuses.

While being held in a cellar, Soni said, he was made to leave fingerprints on guns and bags of marijuana and cocaine.

He was then arrested on charges of carrying an illegal weapon and drug possession, and spent 16 months in prison until he was released with the aid of U.N. representatives in Mexico.

“If they give them that power and send out the Navy again, I’m going to seek political asylum in another country,” Soni told Reuters shortly before the law passed Congress. “Much though I love my country, if I stay, they’ll kill me.”

The Navy subsequently acknowledged participating in abuses against Soni, but he said he has yet to receive any restitution.

The Navy did not immediately reply to request for comment.

“THE JOB WE WERE ASKED TO DO”

Well over 100,000 people have been killed in turf wars between the gangs and clashes with security force since former President Felipe Calderon first sent in the military to combat drug gangs shortly after taking office in December 2006.

Reports of abuse gradually crept up as the battle with the cartels intensified, and tens of thousands of people have gone missing or disappeared in the tumult.

Many of the most damaging scandals, from extra-judicial killings of suspected gang members to questions over the army’s failure to stop the disappearance of 43 students near a base in 2014, have come under President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Opponents of the military deployment say it has undermined trust in one of the most respected institutions in Mexico, as exposure to sickening violence and organized crime corroded the Army and the Navy just as it had the police.

“We don’t want to be on the streets, but this is the job we were asked to do,” said a soldier who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Noting that personnel were often separated from their families for long periods, the soldier said the task of attempting to keep order was made harder by the lack of regulations governing how the military should proceed.

“It should be the police who are doing this, but they don’t have the necessary training,” he said.

Under Calderon and Pena Nieto, the armed forces played a major role in capturing or killing most of the top capos in Mexico. But they have not managed to pacify the country.

October was the most violent month on record since the government began keeping regular monthly tallies 20 years ago.

Relatives of the victims of abuses believe the new law will only give the military more cover to do what it wants.

“The Law of Internal Security won’t just protect them, it offers them more faculties to carry out human rights violations masquerading as security operations,” said Grace Mahogany Fernandez, whose brother was kidnapped and disappeared by the armed forces in December 2008 in the northern state of Coahuila.

(Editing by Dave Graham and Leslie Adler)

Exclusive: U.N. watchdogs call for probe of Taser assaults in U.S. jails

By Stephanie Nebehay and Jason Szep

GENEVA (Reuters) – The U.N. special rapporteur on torture urged U.S. authorities to investigate and weigh criminal charges against jail officials in Ohio, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Arkansas for the “clearly gratuitous infliction of severe pain and suffering” from the use of Tasers on inmates, citing a Reuters report this week.

After reviewing footage of jail incidents obtained by Reuters, Nils Melzer said the “grave abuse” from Taser use in some U.S. jails violated the United Nations’ prohibition on cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and, in some cases, amounted to torture. He cited video footage Reuters published of 22 incidents in four jails: in Franklin County, Ohio; Cheatham County, Tennessee; Franklin County, Arkansas; and McCurtain County, Oklahoma.

“In my view, all of the incidents shown in this video require independent investigation and most of them are likely to merit prosecution,” Melzer said in an interview. “Clearly gratuitous infliction of severe pain and suffering … constitutes a grave violation of human dignity and of the universal code of conduct for law enforcement officials.”

His criticisms were echoed by the head of the United Nations watchdog panel that monitors U.S. compliance with an anti-torture treaty, who said the cases documented by Reuters “need to be investigated thoroughly.”

In an article and accompanying video report published Wednesday, Reuters identified 104 cases of prisoners who died after being shocked with Tasers. Some of the in-custody deaths were deemed “multi-factorial,” with no single cause, and some were attributed to pre-existing health problems. But the Taser was listed as a cause or contributing factor in more than a quarter of the 84 inmate fatalities in which the news agency obtained cause-of-death findings.

Of the 104 inmates who died, just two were armed when shocked and nearly 80 percent hadn’t been convicted of a crime. A third were in handcuffs or other restraints when stunned. In more than two-thirds of the 70 cases in which Reuters was able to gather full details, the inmate already was immobilized when shocked – pinned to the ground or held by officers.

“When you use a tool like this on an incapacitated person, to me it certainly amounts to cruel and degrading treatment,” Melzer said.

Read the original Reuters investigation here https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-taser-jails/

The weapon’s manufacturer, Axon Enterprise Inc, said stun guns can help jailers and inmates avoid injuries when used properly. Axon issues guidance on proper use and warns of the risks associated with its weapons, but the company said it is up to local jail administrators to set their own policies on how and when the weapons are deployed.

“We do not condone torture of any kind,” Axon spokesman Steve Tuttle said in response to Melzer’s call for an investigation. “Our technology is designed to protect life and reduce harm to all parties involved during high risk, violent, and response-to-resistance situations.”

Melzer agreed Tasers “can be a justifiable tool for prison guards as an alternative to a gun to incapacitate a person who poses a threat.”

Melzer cited two of the 22 cases identified by Reuters to explain his belief that an investigation is warranted. One was the 2009 stunning of Martini Smith at the jail in Franklin County, Ohio. Previously unpublished video footage showed the Taser’s electrified darts striking the woman’s chest.

Smith, who was pregnant and lost her baby after being stunned, was one of nine inmates who filed a lawsuit against the county. Guards used Tasers at least 180 times from January 2008 to May 2010, often on prisoners posing “no threat,” the lawsuit contended.

In its own reviews, the sheriff’s office found no wrongdoing by guards and said the Taser use “did not constitute excessive force.”

“That looks like a case of torture,” Melzer said. “She was threatened she would be Tased if she didn’t comply with an order. It’s not that she physically resisted or would have been dangerous to the officer.”

The Smith footage was among dozens of videos Reuters examined of Taser incidents at the Ohio jail. Nineteen were featured in the Reuters video story. Melzer said they revealed “grave abuse.” No deputies at Franklin County have been charged.

The Franklin County Prosecutor’s office said the U.S. Department of Justice did not recommend criminal charges against jail officials when the DOJ intervened on behalf of inmates in the civil lawsuit stemming from the Taser incidents. The inmates’ lawyers also did not seek charges, it added.

Disability Rights Ohio, a nonprofit legal group representing the inmates in the class-action lawsuit against the Franklin County jail, however, said its role is not to seek charges.

“Disability Rights Ohio is not an enforcement agency and has no ability to pursue criminal investigations or charges,” said its director of advocacy, Kerstin Sjoberg-Witt.

Asked for comment, the DOJ said it was unable to immediately respond.

Melzer also cited footage Reuters obtained of deputies in a jail in Cheatham County, Tennessee, who repeatedly stunned 19-year-old Jordan Norris on November 5, 2016, while he was strapped to a restraint chair. That footage also was evidence of “torture,” Melzer said.

One deputy, Mark Bryant, was charged in September with four counts of aggravated assault and one count of official misconduct. Bryant has pleaded not guilty. Neither he nor his lawyers could be reached for comment.

Jens Modvig, chairman of the U.N. Committee against Torture, a panel of 10 independent experts, also said the incidents documented by Reuters represented “blatant abuse” that may violate laws. The United States, as a signatory to the U.N. Convention against Torture, is obligated to investigate the cases, he said.

“Once you introduce them,” Modvig said of stun guns, “it is difficult to avoid cases of misuse.”

(Szep reported from Washington. Additional reporting by Peter Eisler, Charles Levinson and Linda So. Editing by Ronnie Greene and Michael Williams.)

Venezuela systematically abused foes in 2017 protests: rights groups

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela “systematically” abused anti-government protesters this year, two rights groups said on Wednesday, including through beatings, firing tear gas canisters in closed areas and forcing detainees to eat food tainted with excrement.

Unpopular leftist President Nicolas Maduro faced four months of near-daily protests asking for early elections, humanitarian aid to combat food and medicine shortages, respect for the opposition-led congress, and freedom for jailed activists.

Demonstrators say heavy-handed National Guard soldiers clamped down on their right to protest, while Maduro says his administration faced a U.S.-backed “armed insurgency.”

More than 120 people died in the unrest, with victims including demonstrators, government supporters, security officials, and bystanders.

In a joint report, New York-based Human Rights Watch and Venezuela-based Penal Forum documented 88 cases between April and September, from excessive use of force during marches to protest against arbitrary detentions. Around 5,400 people were detained, with at least 757 prosecuted in military courts, the report said.

“The widespread vicious abuses against government opponents in Venezuela, including egregious cases of torture, and the absolute impunity for the attackers suggests government responsibility at the highest levels,” said Chilean lawyer Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.

Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

ELECTRIC SHOCKS, BEATINGS

In one case cited, intelligence agents allegedly hanged a 34-year-old government critic from the ceiling and gave him electric shocks as they interrogated him. The man, whose name was not revealed, was ultimately released and left Venezuela.

In another case, a 32-year-old detained during a protest in Carabobo state was allegedly beaten for hours by National Guard soldiers who also threatened to rape his daughter. He said officials also fired tear gas into his cell.

Others interviewed recounted being handcuffed to a metal bench, hit with sticks, and witnessing a man being raped with a broomstick. At least 15 detainees in Carabobo said officials forced them to eat human excrement mixed in with uncooked pasta.

The government failed to acknowledge such violations, the report said, adding that instead officials “often downplayed the abuses or issued implausible, blanket denials.”

Maduro’s government says Human Rights Watch is in league with a Washington-funded conspiracy to sabotage socialism in Latin America. Rights activists are in league with the opposition and compliant foreign media, officials say, and downplay opposition violence, including setting a man on fire during a demonstration and targeting police with explosives.

The two rights groups said there were cases of protesters hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails at security forces, but that abuses by authorities went far beyond attempts to quell unrest.

(Reporting by Leon Wietfeld; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Susan Thomas)

Chinese police detain teacher in kindergarten abuse inquiry

BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing police investigating alleged child abuse at a kindergarten run by RYB Education Inc said on Saturday they had detained a teacher, in the latest scandal to hit China’s booming childcare industry.

Police in the Chaoyang district said it will further investigate claims of abuse after China’s official Xinhua news agency reported this week they were checking allegations that children at the nursery were “reportedly sexually molested, pierced by needles and given unidentified pills”.

Chaoyang district police said in an online posting on Saturday they had detained a 22-year-old teacher, surnamed Liu from the Hebei province adjacent to Beijing.

Police have also arrested another person, also surnamed Liu, for allegedly disrupting social order by spreading false information about the alleged kindergarten abuse, it said in a separate posting.

RYB’s New York-listed shares plunged 38.4 percent on Friday as the scandal sparked outrage among parents and the public.

The second woman, 31, and a Beijing native, was arrested on Thursday, police said.

Parents said their children, some as young as three, gave accounts of a naked adult male conducting purported “medical check-ups” on unclothed students, other media said.

RYB provides early education services in China and at the end of June was operating 80 kindergartens and had franchised an additional 175, covering 130 cities and towns in China.

Meanwhile, Beijing city authorities have urged RYB to remove the head of the kindergarten, Xinhua reported.

The Chaoyang district has launched an investigation into all childcare facilities in its area, the report said.

(Reporting by Shu Zhang and Josephine Mason; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Clelia Oziel)

Hundreds join Hollywood #MeToo march against sexual abuse

People participate in a protest march for survivors of sexual assault and their supporters in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California U.S. November 12, 2017.

By Jane Ross and Laith Agha

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hundreds of people marched in the heart of Hollywood on Sunday to support victims of sexual assault and harassment, inspired by a social media campaign that has portrayed such abuse as a pervasive feature of American life.

The #MeToo march and rally followed a relentless series of accusations by men and women who said they were victimized by high-powered figures in the entertainment industry. But marchers said they also represented men and women who had been sexually abused as children and in other situations.

“I’ve been sexually assaulted multiple times throughout my life,” said marcher Tara McNamarra, 21, of Los Angeles. “It’s affected me in every aspect of my life.”

She said the march was cleansing after years of not being taken seriously about having been abused.

Women made up a majority of the crowd, although men made a strong showing of support.

Steven Murphy, 51, of Los Angeles, said he regularly witnessed sexual harassment while working as an accountant in the healthcare industry.

“I’ve had personal experiences of friends, of co-workers who were harassed, and nothing ever came of it,” Murphy said. “They were made out to be the guilty ones. They were pressured and harassed by the company for speaking out against assault and sexual harassment in the workplace.”

The marchers started at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, walking along the noted “Walk of Fame” until they reached the Los Angeles headquarters of news network CNN at Sunset and Cahuenga Boulevards.

Along the way, participants noted the stars of actors and producers accused of sexual harassment.

The allegations have inspired an online campaign, tagged #MeToo, that has encouraged men and women in all walks of life to reveal their own experiences with sexual harassment and assault, often years after they occurred.

Among the most recent allegations, five women detailed sexual misconduct accusations against Emmy-winning comedian Louis C.K. in The New York Times on Thursday. He admitted to the misconduct alleged against him in a statement on Friday and apologized for his actions.

More than 50 women have said that Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them over the past three decades. Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone. Reuters has been unable to independently confirm any of the allegations.

Earlier this month, actor Kevin Spacey apologized to actor Anthony Rapp, who had accused him of trying to seduce him in 1986 when Rapp was 14. Spacey’s representatives said later he was seeking treatment.

Eight current and former employees of the Netflix TV show “House of Cards,” who were not identified, also have accused Spacey, the star of the show, of sexual misconduct, CNN has reported.

(Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles and Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif.; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Philippines orders retraining, reassignment of 1,200 police after alleged abuses

Policemen from Caloocan Police District patrol a dimly lit alley at a residential district in Caloocan City Metro Manila Philippines, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine capital’s police chief ordered that the entire 1,200-member police force in one of Manila’s biggest areas be relieved of duty and retrained on Friday in response to a series of controversies, including the killing of two teenagers.

Metro Manila’s top officer Oscar Albayalde said all police personnel in the Caloocan area of the capital would undergo retraining and reorientation before being reassigned to other police units, not necessarily in Manila.

“We will start with the city’s police precincts 2 and 7,” Albayalde said. All personnel in Caloocan’s headquarters and seven precincts would be temporarily replaced by the regional public safety battalion, a combat-trained unit.

“This will be done in batches,” he said.

Albayalde did not say how long the retraining would last and how long it would take for the entire police force in Caloocan to be replaced.

It is the first time an entire city police unit has been relieved of its duties since President Rodrigo Duterte unleashed his bloody crackdown against illegal drugs 15 months ago, a campaign that has killed thousands of Filipinos.

The move comes amid intense scrutiny of police activities in Caloocan in the wake of the killing of 17-year old Kian Loyd Delos Santos last month in what police said was an anti-drugs operation.

His lawyers and family say he was murdered in cold blood. Three officers involved in his killing say he fired at them and they acted in self-defense.

Duterte, known for his frequent speeches that call for drug dealers to be killed, ordered a thorough investigation into the Delos Santos killing and warned police he would not tolerate abuses.

Another teenager, Carl Arnaiz, suffered a similar fate, accused of trying to rob a taxi driver and shooting at police who tried to arrest him. The taxi driver told reporters on Sunday he saw him alive in custody.

About two dozen Caloocan residents, holding placards saying “Stop the Killings”, held a noisy protest outside the precinct’s police headquarters. Dozens of police trainees stood in front and watched the protest.

Friday’s order came only a day after Philippine media reported members of the Caloocan precinct 4 raided an elderly woman’s home and reportedly stole money in an incident captured on closed circuit television cameras. Reuters could not confirm the report independently.

Activists accuse police of executing suspected users and dealers systematically during anti-drugs operations and say official reports that say victims violently resisted arrest are implausible, and contrary to witness accounts.

Police reject those allegations and Duterte has been furious at critics and political opponents who say he has a “kill policy”.

The video of the alleged robbery was uploaded on social media sites and went viral, which angered senior police generals. Albayalde immediately issued the orders to relieve the Caloocan precincts.

“From what we have seen this has been done or will continue to be done by others so it is best to implement this preemptive measure to avoid similar incidents,” Albayalde told reporters.

He warned other districts in Manila could face similar sanctions if they did not shape up.

(Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Martin Petty and Paul Tait)

Blasphemy laws on the books in one-third of nations: study

Protesters hold placards condemning the killing of university student Mashal Khan, after he was accused of blasphemy, during a protest in Islamabad, Pakistan April 18, 2017

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) – Laws prohibiting blasphemy are “astonishingly widespread” worldwide, with many laying down disproportionate punishments ranging from prison sentences to lashings or the death penalty, the lead author of a report on blasphemy said.

Iran, Pakistan, and Yemen score worst, topping a list of 71 countries with laws criminalizing views deemed blasphemous, found in all regions, according to a comprehensive report issued this month by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The bipartisan U.S. federal commission called for repeal of blasphemy statutes, saying they invited abuse and failed to protect freedoms of religion and expression.

“We found key patterns. All deviate from freedom of speech principles in some way, all have a vague formulation, with different interpretations,” Joelle Fiss, the Swiss-based lead author of the report told Reuters.

The ranking is based on how a state’s ban on blasphemy or criminalizing of it contravenes international law principles.

Ireland and Spain had the “best scores”, as their laws order a fine, according to the report which said many European states have blasphemy laws that are rarely invoked.

Some 86 percent of states with blasphemy laws prescribe imprisonment for convicted offenders, it said.

Proportionality of punishment was a key criteria for the researchers.

“That is why Iran and Pakistan are the two highest countries because they explicitly have the death penalty in their law,” Fiss said, referring to their laws which enforce the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

Blasphemy laws can be misused by authorities to repress minorities, the report said, citing Pakistan and Egypt, and can serve as a pretext for religious extremists to foment hate.

Recent high-profile blasphemy cases include Jakarta’s former Christian governor being sentenced to two years in jail in May for insulting Islam, a ruling which activists and U.N. experts condemned as unfair and politicized. Critics fear the ruling will embolden hardline Islamist forces to challenge secularism in Indonesia.

A Pakistani court sentenced a man to death last month who allegedly committed blasphemy on Facebook, the first time the penalty was given for that crime on social media in Muslim-majority Pakistan.

“Each of the top five countries with the highest scoring laws has an official state religion,” the report said, referring to Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Somali and Qatar. All have Islam as their state religion.

Saudi Arabia, where flogging and amputations have been reported for alleged blasphemy, is not among the top “highest-risk countries”, but only 12th, as punishment is not defined in the blasphemy law itself.

“They don’t have a written penal law, but rely on judges’ interpretation of the Sharia. The score was disproportionately low,” Fiss said. “If a law is very vague, it means prosecutors and judges have a lot of discretion to interpret.”

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Turkey’s post-coup emergency rule led to torture, abuse

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during his meeting with mukhtars at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey,

By Humeyra Pamuk

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey has effectively written a “blank check” to security services to torture people detained after a failed military coup attempt, a U.S.-based rights group said on Tuesday, citing accusations of beatings, sleep deprivation and sexual abuse.

A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) said a “climate of fear” had prevailed since July’s failed coup against President Tayyip Erdogan and the arrest of thousands under a State of Emergency. It identified more than a dozen cases raised in interviews with lawyers, activists, former detainees and others.

A Turkish official said the Justice Ministry would respond to the report later in the day; but Ankara has repeatedly denied accusations of torture and said the post-coup crackdown was needed to stabilize a NATO state facing threats from Kurdish militants as well as wars in neighboring Iraq and Syria.

Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, said in a statement it “would be tragic if two hastily passed emergency decrees end up undermining the progress Turkey made to combat torture.”

“By removing safeguards against torture, the Turkish government effectively wrote a blank check to law enforcement agencies to torture and mistreat detainees as they like,” he said.

Erdogan reined in police use of torture especially in the largely Kurdish southeast, seat of a militant rebellion, when he first came to power in 2002. But the battle with Kurdish militants has become more fierce since the breakdown of a ceasefire last year and drawn accusations of rights abuses.

HRW said it had uncovered allegations that police had used methods including sleep deprivation, severe beatings, sexual abuse and the threat of rape since the failed coup. Cases were not limited to possible putschists, but also involved detainees suspected of links to Kurdish militant and leftist groups.

Turkey has arrested more than 35,000 people, detained thousands more and sacked over 100,000 people over their suspected links with Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric blamed for orchestrating the coup attempt. Gulen denies the charge.

The government says the widescale crackdown is justified by the gravity of the threat to the state on July 15, when rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and fighters jets, bombing parliament and killing more than 240 people.

Erdogan declared a state of emergency days after the failed putsch, allowing him and the cabinet to bypass parliament in enacting new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms as they deem necessary.

Emergency decrees have since extended the period of police detention without judicial review to 30 days from 4, allowed the authorities to deny detainees access to lawyers for up to five days, and to restrict their choice of lawyer.

HRW said it had found 13 specific cases of alleged abuse in its report, which was based on interviews with more than 40 lawyers, activists, former detainees, medical personnel and forensic specialists conducted in August and September.

(Editing by Nick Tattersall)

Curbs on excessive force proposed for Cleveland police

By Kim Palmer

CLEVELAND (Reuters) – Cleveland police would face new limits on the use of force under proposals issued on Thursday by a group charged with monitoring the city’s police department, after a U.S. Justice Department report highlighted abuses by some of its officers.

The report came just weeks after Tamir Rice, aged 12, was shot and killed by a rookie Cleveland police officer in November 2014, triggering national outrage over another case involving a young African-American who died at the hands of police.

Rice was shot after a 911 caller reported someone waving a gun outside a city recreation center. Investigators later determined he had been in possession of a replica-type gun that shot pellets, not bullets.

Changes proposed by the Cleveland Police Monitoring Team – a group of 17 national experts and community activists – include a requirement that officers use de-escalation tactics before resorting to force, such as creating distance from the threat involved.

Officers would also be required to provide medical aid, rather than just request aid, for anyone injured after the use of force. Cleveland officers were roundly criticized for waiting eight minutes before providing first aid to the wounded Rice, who died a day after he was shot.

Cleveland police did not carry first-aid kits at the time of Rice’s death, a policy that has changed since then.

Officers would also be barred from using chokeholds or force against suspects already handcuffed under the monitoring team’s proposals, and prohibited from putting themselves in harm’s way in a manner that might then require the use of deadly force.

A Cleveland police officer who was in the path of an oncoming vehicle, after a high-speed car chase in 2013, shot the first in a barrage of 137 rounds fired by 13 officers that killed the man and woman in the car.

The proposals from the Cleveland Police Monitoring Team are still subject to public comment this month. If approved by a judge and federal officials, they would take effect sometime early next year, according to Matthew Barge, the oversight consent decree monitor.

(Reporting by Kim Palmer; Editing by Ben Klayman and Tom Brown)

Australia prison abuse on aboriginal children investigated

Barbed wire fences surround the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre located near Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia,

By Matt Siegel

SYDNEY (Reuters) – The use of hoods, restraints and teargas on Australian aboriginal children in youth detention centers by police, as shown in footage released this week, could violate the U.N. treaty barring torture, a top U.N. official said on Thursday.

Australia’ Northern Territory on Wednesday suspended the use of hoods and restraints on children after the broadcasting of CCTV footage showing guards at a juvenile detention center teargassing aboriginal inmates and strapping a half-naked, hooded boy to a chair.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has ordered a Royal Commission in the treatment of children in the detention center, the most powerful inquiry in the country, rejecting calls for a national inquiry.

U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez, told Australia’s Radio National on Thursday that the video suggested that torture may have taken place and welcomed the inquiry but warned against limiting its scope.

“It’s hard to tell only from the video or the press coverage but I do think that it’s a very worrisome development that can amount to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under any circumstance…,” he said.

He said that there was no question that very severe pain and suffering had occurred and that the perpetrators seem to be representatives of the state. If others knew and did nothing, they too could be punished alongside those who actually committed the violence, he said.

The footage, showing six aboriginal boys being stripped naked, strapped to a chair with a hood, thrown by the neck into a cell and held for long periods in solitary confinement, was shot between 2010 and 2014 at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre near Darwin in the Northern Territory.

A report into some of the incidents by the Northern Territory Children’s Commissioner in 2015 found fault with the guards’ behavior, but the findings were disputed by the then head of prisons and not acted upon, said Australian Broadcasting Corp, who aired the footage.

The Northern Territory’s corrections minister was sacked on Tuesday, just hours after the broadcast.

The case highlights concern about the disproportionate numbers of aboriginal youth in custody, with indigenous leaders calling for politicians to deal with the wider issue of the treatment of Aborigines in Australia.

Aborigines comprise just three percent of Australia’s population but make up 27 percent of those in prison and represent 94 percent of the Northern Territory’s juvenile inmates.

Australia’s roughly 700,000 indigenous citizens track near the bottom of almost every economic and social indicator for the country’s 23 million people.

(Editing by Michael Perry)

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