Monty Cantsin
20th February 2004, 02:05
Germany: Back in the spotlight
Despite receiving continuing allegations of police ill-treatment of detainees, Germany has refused to bow to repeated international pressure to establish an independent mechanism to investigate all incidents of serious police misconduct.
Such allegations have included police officers kicking, punching and kneeing detainees and painfully twisting their arms behind their backs and tugging their handcuffed hands. Some victims of alleged police ill-treatment suffered injuries so serious that they were hospitalized. Regrettably, a significant proportion of allegations have continued to come from foreign nationals or members of ethnic minorities. In the absence of any uniform and comprehensive official figures on complaints about ill-treatment by police officers the true magnitude of the phenomenon in Germany is known to no one.
Amnesty International believes that there is still much more Germany can do to ensure that police officers who ill-treat detainees are brought to account. Put alleged police ill-treatment firmly back on Germany's political agenda and call on the authorities to implement long awaited change.
source (http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deu-140104-action-eng)
Despite receiving continuing allegations of police ill-treatment of detainees, Germany has refused to bow to repeated international pressure to establish an independent mechanism to investigate all incidents of serious police misconduct.
Such allegations have included police officers kicking, punching and kneeing detainees and painfully twisting their arms behind their backs and tugging their handcuffed hands. Some victims of alleged police ill-treatment suffered injuries so serious that they were hospitalized. Regrettably, a significant proportion of allegations have continued to come from foreign nationals or members of ethnic minorities. In the absence of any uniform and comprehensive official figures on complaints about ill-treatment by police officers the true magnitude of the phenomenon in Germany is known to no one.
Amnesty International believes that there is still much more Germany can do to ensure that police officers who ill-treat detainees are brought to account. Put alleged police ill-treatment firmly back on Germany's political agenda and call on the authorities to implement long awaited change.
source (http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deu-140104-action-eng)