Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/torture/Denmark.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Denmark. 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 *** Council of Europe
anti-torture Committee publishes report on Denmark Executive Summary, 7
January 2020 [accessed 31 May
2020] Regrettably, no other
substantial improvements have been made since the CPT’s 2014 visit to
strengthen the safeguards afforded to persons deprived of their liberty by
the police. Consequently, the Committee must reiterate its recommendations
made in this regard, notably as concerns the right of all
detained persons (including
persons detained under
the Aliens Act)
to be granted
effective access to a
lawyer as from
the very outset
of their deprivation
of liberty. The
Committee also recommends that,
given their particular vulnerability, juveniles deprived of their liberty by
the police should never be subjected to police questioning or be requested to
make any statement or to sign any document concerning the offence(s) they are
suspected of having committed without the presence of a lawyer and, in
principle, a trusted adult. Denmark
ordered to compensate Iraqi civilians over torture Agence France-Presse AFP, Stockholm, Gulf News, 16 June 2018 gulfnews.com/news/mena/iraq/denmark-ordered-to-compensate-iraqi-civilians-over-torture-1.2237835 [accessed 17 June
2018] Though the Danish
soldiers did not join in the torture, they failed to prevent the abuse, court
says A Danish court
ordered the government on Friday to compensate 18 civilians who were tortured
during the Iraq war in an operation carried out by Iraqi security forces
along with a Danish battalion. In total, 23
plaintiffs had sued Denmark after they were arrested and subjected to
“torture and inhumane treatment” in 2004 during operation “Green Desert” near
Iraq’s main port city of Basra. The appeals court
in Copenhagen ruled that although the Danish soldiers did not join in the
torture, they failed to prevent the abuse. 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Denmark 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/denmark/
[accessed 16 July
2021] TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT It reported a few
isolated allegations of excessive use of force, such as the person having
been violently pushed to the ground or tightly handcuffed, and of threatening
behavior by police officers, for example, officers pointing a firearm at the
head of the person at the time of apprehension. The Danish
Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) reported an increased use of force in
prisons. It also noted an exponential increase in the use of prolonged
solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure against convicted prisoners
over the previous five years–705 instances of more than 14 days in 2019,
compared with seven instances in 2015. PRISON AND DETENTION
CENTER CONDITIONS In its January 7
report, the CPT stated that prisoners complained about access to the toilet
(both during the day and at night) at the Copenhagen Police Headquarters
Prison and at the Odense Remand Prison. In the Copenhagen City Police
Station, the Nykobing Falster Police Station, and
the Odense Police Headquarters, it observed a lack of access to natural light
and insufficient artificial lighting in the cells. In addition, ventilation
was poor in the cells of the Nykobing Falster
Police Station. ARREST PROCEDURES
AND TREATMENT OF DETAINEES The Ellebaek prison, operated by the Prison and Probation
Service, held 117 rejected asylum seekers who were considered flight risks
but had not committed other crimes. The CPT report deemed both the prison and
the Nykobing Falster Holding Center as unsuitable
for residents. The head of the CPT delegation stated that residents were kept
in prison-like conditions with poor sanitary conditions. The report described
harsh punishments, including 15 days of solitary confinement, for possessing
a mobile telephone. Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/denmark/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 12 May
2020] F3. IS THERE PROTECTION FROM THE ILLEGITIMATE
USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FREEDOM FROM WAR AND INSURGENCIES? People in Denmark
are generally free from violent crime and physical abuse by state
authorities. DIGNITY
- Danish Institute Against Torture [accessed 23 May
2018] We fight for a
world free from torture and help victims of torture to a better life ABOUT DIGNITY -
DIGNITY is headquartered in Denmark, but cooperates with partner
organizations in about twenty other countries. We were founded in
1982 by doctor Inge Genefke. As one of the first,
we focused on the need for specialized treatment for victims of torture, and
DIGNITY (or Rehabilitation and research Center for Torture victims, as it was
called back then) became one of the first torture rehabilitation centers in the
world. Today we work both
politically, juridically and medically. We fight
for a world without torture and offer torture victims the vital
rehabilitation they need. We work with and
based on recognized international human rights standards and conventions,
including the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Istanbul Protocol, the Nelson Mandela
Rules, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Therapy
For Torture Victims Has Surprising Economic Benefit, Study Says Melody Schreiber,
Goats and Soda, National Public Radio NPR, 22 May 2018 [accessed 23 May
2018] Every month, about
300 refugees apply for asylum in Denmark, seeking shelter from conflicts and
persecution in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere. And many of them
need help beyond finding a new home. A 2013 study
calculated that 30 percent of refugees in high-income host countries have
experienced torture; about 150 refugees seek treatment at the Danish
Institute Against Torture every year. Denmark
Accused of 'Outsourcing' Torture to Lebanon teleSUR, 18 June 2015 www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Denmark-Accused-of-Outsourcing-Torture-to-Lebanon-20150618-0003.html [accessed 25 Aug
2015] www.telesurenglish.net/news/Denmark-Accused-of-Outsourcing-Torture-to-Lebanon-20150618-0003.html [accessed 31
December 2018] Danish authorities
have been accused of torturing at least three individuals abroad, including
one man who says he was kidnapped in broad daylight after refusing to spy on
behalf of the country's Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET),
according to reports Wednesday. When Ibrahim turned
down the overtures and said he would leave Denmark, he alleged a PET agent
told him, “Where do think you will go? We have friends all over the world. Do
you want to go to Lebanon? We have friends there too.” A year later, Ibrahim
alleged he was kidnapped during a visit to Lebanon, and subsequently tortured
and held in a Lebanese prison. “The brutal torture
I received was not the worst. Some experience much harsher torture methods. I
consider myself lucky. Others were raped,” he stated. Conclusions and
recommendations of the Committee against Torture U.N. Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment -- Doc. CAT/C/CR/28/1
(2002) www1.umn.edu/humanrts/cat/observations/denmark2002.html [accessed 27
February 2013] C. Subjects of
concern 6. The Committee is
concerned about the following: a) The lack of a definition
of torture, as provided in article 1 of the Convention, in the penal
legislation of the State party and the lack of a specific offence of torture
punishable by appropriate penalties, as required by article 4, paragraph 2,
of the Convention; (b) The lack of
effective recourse procedures against decisions imposing solitary confinement
upon persons servicing sentence; (c) The proposed
amendment to the Alien's Act, which may imply that aliens who have been
refused a residence permit leave the country immediately after the rejection
of their application. If strictly applied this will frustrate the
effectiveness of article 22 of the Convention. D. Recommendations 7. The Committee
recommends that: (a) The State party
ensure the speedy implementation of the recommendation of the Ad Hoc
Committee with regard to incorporating the Convention into Danish domestic
law; (b) Denmark
establish adequate penal provisions to make torture as defined in article 1
of the Convention a punishable offence in accordance with article 4,
paragraph 2, of the Convention; (c) The State party
should continue to monitor the effects of solitary confinement on detainees
and the effects of the new bill, which has reduced the number of grounds that
can give raise to solitary confinement and its length; (d) The law
governing solitary confinement for convicted prisoners should establish
adequate review mechanisms relating to its determination and duration; (e) The State party
should ensure that the proposed Amendment to the Aliens Act does not
frustrate effective recourse to article 22 of the Convention for aliens; (f) The State party
widely disseminate the Committee's conclusions and recommendations, in all
appropriate languages, in the country. AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL From an old article -- URL not available Article was
published sometime prior to 2015 POLICE AND SECURITY
FORCES
- In August, the director of the Independent Police Complaints Authority
stated that a considerable number of complaints against the police had to be closed
without further action being taken because it was not possible to identify
the officers involved. As a result, several politicians called for police
officers to wear identity numbers on their uniform – a suggestion opposed by
heads of police. Search
… AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL For current
articles:: Search Amnesty
International Website www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=denmark+torture&ref=&year=&lang=en&adv=1&sort=relevance [accessed 31 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/2005/61645.htm [accessed 24 January
2013] 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61645.htm [accessed 3 July
2019] TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT – The law
prohibits such practices, and there were no reports that government officials
employed them. In 2004 military
authorities charged one active reserve member of its armed forces with
dereliction of duty related to her allegedly improper interrogation of detainees. Military authorities also charged the
commanding officer and three other soldiers in connection with the case.
Court proceedings were ongoing at year's end. Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 1 Status: Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/denmark [accessed 24 January
2013] LONG URL
ç 2009 Country Reports begin on Page 21 [accessed 12 May
2020] The judiciary is
independent, and citizens enjoy full due-process rights. The court system
consists of 100 local courts, two high courts, and the 15-member Supreme
Court, with judges appointed by the monarch on the government’s
recommendation. A 2007 report by the International Commission of Jurists
found ethnic bias in “a limited scope” of Danish court rulings and suggested
mandatory training courses on discrimination for judges and lawyers. Prisons
generally meet international standards. Police brutality became an issue in
February 2008, however, when a week of rioting in mostly
immigrant neighborhoods in Denmark’s largest cities were apparently touched
off by the alleged police beating of an immigrant youth. Response
of the Danish Government to the report of the European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)
on its visit to Denmark from 4 to 13 February 2014 Council of Europe,
Strasbourg, 3 March 2015 www.cpt.coe.int/documents/dnk/2015-16-inf-eng.pdf [accessed 31 March
2015] rm.coe.int/168069570e [accessed 24 July 2017] www.refworld.org/docid/551910dd4.html [accessed 30
December 2017] The Danish
Government has requested the publication of this response. The CPT’s report on the February 2014 visit
to Denmark is set out in document CPT/Inf (2014)
25. All
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webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance
& Other Ill Treatment in the early years of the 21st Century-
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