Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 TO
2025 gvnet.com/torture/Belize.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Belize. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No
attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of Torture by Authorities are of
particular interest to you. You might
be interested in exploring the moral justification for inflicting pain or
inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment in order to obtain critical
information that may save countless lives, or to elicit a confession for a
criminal act, or to punish someone to teach him a lesson outside of the
courtroom. Perhaps your paper might
focus on some of the methods of torture, like fear, extreme temperatures,
starvation, thirst, sleep deprivation, suffocation, or immersion in freezing
water. On the other hand, you might
choose to write about the people acting in an official capacity who
perpetrate such cruelty. There is a
lot to the subject of Torture by Authorities.
Scan other countries as well as this one. Draw comparisons between activity in
adjacent countries and/or regions.
Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper
resources that are available on-line. ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Belize U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/belize/
[accessed 5 July
2021] TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT The constitution
prohibits torture or other inhuman punishment, but there were reports that
police used excessive force as well as allegations of abuse by security force
personnel. During the first half of the year, 55 percent of the complaints
received by the Office of the Ombudsman were filed against the BDP for abuse
of power, harassment, brutality, arbitrary search and entry, and unlawful
imprisonment. The human rights ombudsman also received complaints against the
Belize Central Prison for allegations of inhuman treatment, refusal to
provide information to family, denial of the right to communicate, and denial
of proper medical care of inmates. The Office of the Ombudsman noted that
while the central prison authorities were more forthcoming to responses of
allegations than in the past, the responses were mostly vague and failed to
address the concerns raised. Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/belize/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 11 May
2020] F3. IS THERE PROTECTION FROM THE ILLEGITIMATE
USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FREEDOM FROM WAR AND INSURGENCIES? Belize is free from
war and insurgencies, and ordinary citizens have little reason to fear for
their general safety. However, cases of police brutality continue to emerge.
In April 2017, a viral video depicted a woman being thrown to the ground and
kicked by police officers during a confrontation between police and residents
of San Pedro. While two officers were charged in connection with that
incident, the government frequently ignores or dismisses reports of abuses by
police, or transfers accused officers to other areas within their department. Belize Human Rights
-- Areas of concern: Police abuses, children's rights, death penalty Amnesty
International USA www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/americas/belize [accessed 16 Jan
2014] ABUSES BY POLICE - There were several
reports of abuses by police, including torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary
detention. Three men, a father
and his two sons, were arrested separately in July, on suspicion of
withholding evidence related to a bank robbery. All three were reportedly
beaten and subjected to electric shock torture before being released without
charge. Search … AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL For current
articles:: Search Amnesty
International Website www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=belize+torture&ref=&year=&lang=en&adv=1&sort=relevance [accessed 25 December
2018] Scroll Down ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61716.htm [accessed 21 January
2013] 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61716.htm [accessed 3 July
2019] TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT – While the
constitution prohibits torture or other inhuman punishment, there were
numerous reports that police and prison staff used excessive force. Common complaints
received by the Office of the Ombudsman alleged misconduct and abuse by
police and Department of Corrections personnel. Several cases of alleged
abuse featured in the press were never reported to the Office of the
Ombudsman or to the Office of Internal Affairs and Discipline for
investigation. In a number of cases, the government ignored reports of
abuses, withheld action until the case had faded from the public's attention,
and then failed to take punitive action or transferred accused officers to
other districts. The government took action on 74 of 81 complaints registered
with the Office of Internal Affairs and Discipline. The ombudsman's office
received 109 general complaints of police abuse and resolved 101 cases. The
ombudsman determined that police use of force was appropriate in the majority
of cases investigated, even if the level of force used was sometimes
excessive. At year's end the
Office of Internal Affairs was investigating the claim by John and Frans Faux that Dangriga police
tortured them in July by means of electric shock and beating. A Supreme Court
hearing was scheduled for 2006 in the case of police constable Julio Shal charged in March 2004 with attempted killing, deadly
means of harm, and possession of a firearm while under the influence of
alcohol, resulting in the shooting injury of Pedro Guzman. During the year
authorities dropped the charges of dangerous harm brought against police
constable Clayton Marin in connection with the 2004 beating of Emile Pinelo. Charges of dangerous harm brought against former
police constable Cyril Wade in connection with the same beating were
maintained, with a civilian trial date to be set for Wade in 2006. On January 5,
authorities acquitted police superintendent Ewart
Itza of all charges stemming from a 2003 brutality investigation. Prosecutors
appealed his case to the Supreme Court, and the appeal was pending at year's
end. Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 2 Status: Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/belize [accessed 21 January
2013] LONG URL
ç 2009 Country Reports begin on Page 21 [accessed 11 May
2020] The judiciary is
independent and nondiscriminatory, and the rule of law is generally
respected. Despite an increase in crime, the heavy backlog of cases decreased
in 2007 because of several dismissals. However, the proportion of inmates
awaiting trial rose to 23.5 percent in 2008, from 21.7 percent in 2007. Cases
are often prolonged for years while defendants are free on bail. Reports of
police misconduct are investigated by the department’s internal affairs
office or by an ombudsman’s office. Extrajudicial killing and use of
excessive force are among the country’s primary human rights concerns. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this
webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance
& Other Ill Treatment in the early years of the 21st Century-
Belize", http://gvnet.com/torture/Belize.htm, [accessed <date>] |
