Médecins Sans Frontières Suspends Work in Detention Centres
Friday, 27 January 2012, 4:26 pmPress Release: Medecines San Frontiers
Médecins Sans Frontières teams began working inMisrata’s detention centres in August 2011, to treat warwounded detainees. Since then, the organisation’s doctorswere increasingly confronted with patients who sufferedinjuries caused by torture during interrogation sessions.The interrogations were held outside the detention centres.In total, Médecins Sans Frontières treated 115 people whohad torture-related wounds and reported all the cases to therelevant authorities in Misrata. Since January, several ofthe patients returned to interrogation centres have evenbeen tortured again.
“Some officials have sought toexploit and obstruct our medical work,” stated MédecinsSans Frontières General Director Christopher Stokes.“Patients were brought to us in the middle ofinterrogation for medical care, in order to make them fitfor further interrogation. This is unacceptable. Our role isto provide medical care to war casualties and sickdetainees, not to repeatedly treat the same patients betweentorture sessions.”
Médecins Sans Frontières medicalteams were also asked to treat patients inside theinterrogation centres, which was categorically refused bythe organisation.
The most alarming case occurred on 3January, when Médecins Sans Frontières physicians treated agroup of 14 detainees returning from an interrogation centrelocated outside the detention facilities. Despite previousdemands from Médecins Sans Frontières for the immediateend of torture, nine of the 14 detainees suffered numerousinjuries and displayed obvious signs of torture.
After meeting with various authorities, MédecinsSans Frontières sent an official letter on 9 January to theMisrata Military Council, the Misrata Security Committee,the National Army Security Service, and the Misrata LocalCivil Council, again demanding an immediate stop to any formof ill treatment of detainees.
MédecinsSans Frontières will continue its mental health supportactivities in schools and health facilities in Misrata, aswell as its assistance to 3,000 African migrants, refugeesand internally displaced persons in and aroundTripoli.
More source:
Libya: Detainees Tortured and Denied Medical Care | Doctors ...MSF suspends Misrata work amid torture claims - RTÉ News
Médecins Sans Frontières Suspends Work in Detention Centres ...
Aid group halts work in Libya over 'torture' - Africa - Al Jazeera English
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