Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment In the early years of the 21st Century 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/torture/Ireland.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Ireland. 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: Ireland 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/ireland/
[accessed 25 July
2021] TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT The law prohibits
such practices, and there were no reports government officials employed them. Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/ireland/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 17 May
2020] F3. IS THERE
PROTECTION FROM THE ILLEGITIMATE USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FREEDOM FROM WAR
AND INSURGENCIES? Irish prisons and detention
facilities are reportedly dangerous, unsanitary, and overcrowded. In 2016,
the inspector of prisons published a review of prisoner complaint procedures
that found failures to adhere to complaint protocols. The government has
taken some steps to address a 2015 Council of Europe report that criticized
the continued lack of toilet access in some cells. 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/IRL/CO/1 (2011) www1.umn.edu/humanrts/cat/observations/ireland2011.html [accessed 15
Aug 2013] Complaint and
investigation mechanisms 18. The Committee notes
the information provided by the State party with regard to the investigation
of complaints by prisoners against prison staff relating to incidents which
allegedly occurred in the following prisons: Portlaoise, on 30 June 2009;
Mountjoy, on 15 June 2009 and 12 January 2010; Cork, on 16 December 2009; and
Midlands, on 7 June 2009. The Committee notes with concern that in all these
cases there have been no independent and effective investigations into the
allegations of ill-treatment by prison staff. The Inspector of Prisons, in
his report of 10 September 2010 entitled “Guidance on best practice for
dealing with prisoners’ complaints”, concluded that there is no independent
complaints and investigation body to investigate prisoners’ complaints and
that present procedures followed do not accord with best practice, and
recommended the establishment of an independent mechanism to receive and
investigate complaints against prison staff (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). The Committee
recommends that the State party: (a) Establish an
independent and effective complaint and investigation mechanism to facilitate
the submission of complaints by victims of torture and ill- treatment by
prison staff and ensure that in practice complainants are protected against
any intimidation or reprisals as a consequence of the complaints; (b) Institute
prompt, impartial and thorough investigations into all allegations of torture
or ill-treatment by prison staff; (c) Ensure that all
officials who are allegedly involved in any violation of the Convention are
suspended from their duties during the conduct of the investigations; (d) Provide the
Committee with information on the number of complaints made concerning
allegations of torture and ill-treatment by prison staff, the number of
investigations carried out and the number of prosecutions and convictions, as
well as on the redress awarded to victims. 19. The Committee
welcomes the establishment of the Garda Si ocha na Ombudsman Commission (GSOC)
in 2005, the members of which cannot be serving members or former members of
the Garda Si ocha na (Police Force). GSOC is empowered to investigate
complaints of torture and ill-treatment against members of the Garda Si ocha
na. However, the Committee regrets that GSOC can also refer complaints to the
Garda (Police) Commissioner, who can proceed with the investigations
independently or under the supervision of GSOC, except complaints concerning
the death of or serious harm to a person in police custody. The Committee is
also concerned at the information that GSOC has submitted proposals for the
amendment of the Garda Si ocha na Act of 2005 in a number of areas, including
the power to allow GSOC to refer investigations back to the Garda Si ocha na,
thereby allowing the police to investigate itself (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). The Committee
recommends that the State party ensure by law that all allegations of torture
and ill-treatment by the police are directly investigated by the Garda Si
ocha na Ombudsman Commission and that sufficient funds are allocated to the
Commission so as to enable it to carry out its duties promptly and
impartially and to deal with the backlog of complaints and investigations
which has accumulated. The Committee also requests the State party to provide
it with statistical data on (a) the number of complaints of torture and
ill-treatment filed against prison officers, the number of investigations
instituted, and the number of prosecutions and convictions imposed; and (b)
the number of cases that have been referred to the Garda Si ocha na. Search … AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL For current
articles:: Search Amnesty
International Website www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=ireland+torture&ref=&year=&lang=en&adv=1&sort=relevance [accessed 4 January 2019] 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/2005/61654.htm [accessed 31 January
2013] 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61654.htm [accessed 4 July
2019] TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT – Although the law
prohibits such practices, there were reports of abuse by police officers. In 2004 the Police Complaints
Board recorded 1,232 complaints, including abuse of authority, discourtesy,
neglect, and discreditable conduct of police officers, compared with 1,175
such complaints recorded in 2003. Of these complaints, 31 cases were
adjudicated as minor breaches of discipline and referred to the commissioner,
and 27 were deemed breaches of discipline and referred to a tribunal. Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 1 Status: Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/ireland [accessed 31 January
2013] LONG
URL ç 2009 Country Reports begin on Page 21 [accessed 12 May
2020] The legal system is
based on common law, and the judiciary is independent. Council of Europe
inspectors in 2006 found evidence of some beatings and other ill-treatment of
detainees by police, mostly at the time of arrest, but stated that prisons
are generally well run. 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- Ireland", http://gvnet.com/torture/Ireland.htm, [accessed
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