COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE ISSUES CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON REPORT OF DENMARK

CAT
28th session
10 May 2002
Afternoon



Continues Review of Report of Saudi Arabia



The Committee against Torture provided its conclusions and recommendations this afternoon on a fourth periodic report of Denmark, lauding the country's overall human rights performance and calling for it to follow through on a recommendation made by a committee of its Ministry of Justice that the Convention against Torture, along with five other United Nations human rights treaties, be incorporated into Danish law.
The Committee also said that Denmark should establish adequate penal provisions to make torture as defined in article 1 of the Convention a punishable offense; that it should continue to monitor the effects of solitary confinement on detainees and the effects of a new bill which had reduced the grounds that could give rise to solitary confinement and its length; and that it should ensure that a law governing solitary confinement for convicted prisoners established adequate review mechanisms.
Among positive aspects to the report the Committee noted Denmark's "high level of respect for human rights generally" and "the active role it plays internationally in the fight against torture".
The Committee also continued its consideration of an initial report of Saudi Arabia, hearing Government replies to a series of questions put by Committee members upon presentation of the report on Wednesday morning.
A twelve-member Government delegation, noting Committee members' concern over whether punishments such as flogging and amputation meted out by the country's Islamic Shari'a courts appeared to be de facto violations of the Convention, said Saudi Arabia did not agree with that assessment -- that the punishments were based on specific rules of the Koran and furthermore were in accordance with the legal provisions of a sovereign country. The delegation said such sanctions thus could not be termed torture, that the Government had been "puzzled" by the Committee's questions on the matter, and that the difference in views represented differences in culture and a lack of Western knowledge about Islamic civilization.
The Saudi delegation also described the activities and powers of the country's religious police and standards and lengths of pretrial detention.
Conclusions and recommendations on the Saudi report will be issued at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 15 May.
Denmark and Saudi Arabia, as among the 129 States parties to the Convention against Torture, must submit periodic reports to the Committee on national efforts to implement the treaty.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Monday, 13 May, to begin its review of a third periodic report of the Russian Federation.

Conclusions and Recommendations on Fourth Periodic Report of Denmark
The Committee cited among positive aspects to the report Denmark's maintenance of a high level of respect for human rights in general and for the active role it played internationally in the fight against torture; the recommendation made by a committee set up by the Danish Ministry of Justice to incorporate the six main United Nations human rights treaties into Danish domestic law; and the circulars of the National Commissioner of Police, describing, among other things, earlier access by family to detainees, mandatory medical examination of all persons placed in a detention cell, and access to a lawyer and interpreter without delay.
Noted among subjects of concern were the lack of a definition of torture as provided in article 1 of the Convention in the penal legislation of Denmark and the lack of a specific offense of torture punishable by appropriate penalties; and the lack of effective recourse procedures against decisions imposing solitary confinement upon persons serving sentences.
The Committee recommended that Denmark ensure speedy implementation of the recommendation of its Ad Hoc Committee regarding incorporating the Convention into Danish domestic law; that it establish adequate penal provisions to make torture as defined in article 1 of the Convention a punishable offense in accordance with the Convention; that it continue to monitor the effects of solitary confinement on detainees and the effects of the new bill, which had reduced the grounds that could give rise to solitary confinement and its length; that it ensure that the law governing solitary confinement for convicted prisoners establish adequate review mechanisms relating to its determination and duration; and that Denmark ensure that its proposed amendment to the Aliens Act did not frustrate effective recourse to article 22 of the Convention for aliens.

Discussion of Initial Report of Saudi Arabia
A delegation of the Government of Saudi Arabia, responding to questions put by Committee members on Wednesday morning, said among other things that the delegation had felt both gratified by the honest questions put by the Committee and puzzled, as there appeared to be an attempt to distort the definition of torture in the Convention, which excluded any legal sanctions. These questions had ignored the fact that each country had its own Constitution and legal system; the Constitution of the Islamic world, of course, was the Koran, the religion of billions of people on earth. Any amendment or cancellation in the Constitutions of Islamic countries was a violation of divine law; and anyone who called for it could not be considered a Muslim. However, the delegation understood the questions were put in good faith and would try to arrive at an agreement on common standards for human rights between civilizations, as current international standards had been drafted by Westerners who had ignored the Islamic Constitution and well-known standards of the Islamic Shari'a.
The Convention had become part of national law and could be invoked before competent courts, the delegation said. Powers of arrest and detention had recently been amended; no person could be arrested or detained unless certain conditions were met. Such a person had to be caught red-handed; or be accused of a serious crime such as murder, robbery or rape; or there had to be a situation where an investigation required a detention to keep a suspect from fleeing. Suspicions alone did not warrant arrest. Detention lengths had to respect the relative seriousness of the alleged crime.
The country's religious police tried to prevent the commission of crimes through advice, the delegation said; the intent was to preserve morality. However, the religious police had powers of arrest if a person was caught red-handed and if the crime warranted attention in order to ensure public security and safety. The religious police had to hand such a suspect over to the investigating authority; he could be released then, pending investigation, or held if it was determined that was necessary. The religious police's role ended when such a person was handed over to the investigating authority.
The Code of Criminal Procedure provided for a client's right to be represented by a lawyer, the delegation said; if a suspect reported to the court that he could not afford counsel, he would be helped.
Detention was limited to 24 hours after which the accused had to be released or handed over to the Department of Public Investigation and Prosecution, which interrogated the accused for 24 hours and decided whether the accused should be released or the detention should be extended for no more than 5 days. An accused then could be detained for a period of no more than 40 days based on the authority of Head of the Department, a period that could be extended for up to six months from the day of arrest; detention lengths reflected the seriousness of the alleged crime.
No Government authority could detain anyone without judicial supervision, the delegation said. Family visits were allowed to detainees based on a regular schedule, four days a week.
A confession was only acceptable in court if it was not obtained by torture, the delegation said; if a confession was obtained by improper or cruel means it could not be invoked in court. Regulations stipulated that interrogations could not subvert the will of the accused; such a person could not be coerced. A judge had to endorse a confession, and an accused person could revoke his confession at any time, even after sentencing.
Deportation of Egyptians and other Arabs referred to by the Committee were carried out in a lawful manner and Saudi Arabia had no information that those deportations had resulted in those persons suffering maltreatment, the delegation said.
Prison conditions were humane and prisons were inspected by relevant Government departments, the delegation said. There was temporary overcrowding in some prisons and detention centres. Coordination of prison visits were allowed for United Nations human rights officials, and such visits might occur in the future. Members of accredited embassies within Saudi Arabia generally were allowed to visit citizens of their countries held in Saudi prisons.
The Commission on Investigations of Torture had reviewed 24 cases last year, the delegation said; some accused were indicted and verdicts were issued.
Solitary confinement was allowed only if an investigation required it for a period not exceeding 60 days, or if a prisoner committed a breach or infringement inside a prison or detention centre, the delegation. In the second case a legal decision had to be issued. In either case family visits were allowed.
All acts that amounted to torture or something less than torture were liable to legal proceedings and sanctions, the delegation said; investigations were mounted as soon as a complaint of torture was issued, and if there was sufficient evidence. Complaints could be filed under article 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. If a prisoner was involved, the Department of Public Investigation and Procedure carried out an investigation.
Medical, administrative and judicial supervision was available before and during corporal punishment. Whipping was not intended to be torture but to serve as a deterrent. The condition of the person involved was taken into consideration. Even at the time of implementation of the penalty the judge could commute the punishment. The object was not to punish but to rehabilitate and to protect society.
A Royal Decree had ensured implementation of the Convention, making the Convention part of the laws of the country, the delegation said.
Children were protected from anything resembling torture by several legal means, first of all the teachings of the Islamic Shari'a, which Islamic society was imbued with, the delegation said; in addition the Convention on the Rights of the Child was strictly enforced and widely publicized. Among other measures was a telephone hotline for children who felt they were subjected to maltreatment.
Allegations about the treatment of certain Ethiopians raised by the Committee had been raised by another United Nations human rights mechanism and the issue had been dealt with in that context and dropped, the delegation said. In any case, the men referred to were tried in Saudi courts and later deported.
Amputation, flogging, and stoning were imposed in accordance with the standards of the Koran, the delegation said; in the Koran, there were specific sanctions for specific crimes, and those sanctions included amputation, flogging and stoning; they were not subject to modification. God Almighty had said those who stole -- their hands must be amputated. God Almighty had said adulterers must be stoned and whipped 100 lashes. It was clear that these sanctions were implemented by Saudi Arabia in accordance with its Constitution, based on the Shari'a. The country had sovereignty in this matter; it was bound to respect its Constitution and not to take any decision that ran counter to the Shari'a or act against any rule in the Shari'a that ought to be applied. Saudi Arabia had registered a reservation to the Convention stating that there was and could be no conflict between the Shari'a and the Convention. Saudi Arabia did not consider these punishments to be a form of torture, as they were a legal sanction; they were not in violation of the rules of the competent legal authorities.
Islamic scholars did not disagree on specific punishments such as whipping and amputation when they were prescribed by the Koran for cardinal crimes, the delegation said; the Koran text was clear, and scholars agreed that with a text like that the situation was beyond dispute.
The judiciary was completely independent, the delegation said; this independence was based on the Shari'a, whose requirements for such independence predated modern jurisprudence. The Shari'a, however, prohibited the judge from arbitrating between people if he did not feel in a proper state to do so. Anything that could interfere with the judiciary was not allowed. The Statutes of the Judiciary reflected the Koran's rules for independence, noting that there was no authority above a judge except the Shari'a.
Allegations of maltreatment of certain religious minorities by the judicial system were unfounded, the delegation said; all were treated alike; there was no discrimination between religions or between different sects of Islam.
A number of police officers had been tried on charges of maltreatment, the delegation said; the necessary measures had been taken and in some cases remedial awards had been made. Some officers had been convicted in these cases. The maximum penalty was prison for a period of no more than 10 years, or a fine.
A Committee member had alleged there had been executions of homosexuals, the delegation said; that was not true; the persons referred to had committed crimes against children; that was the reason for the executions. It also was not true, as alleged, that foreign workers had been improperly detained or imprisoned or maltreated; these allegations had come from a single source, a non-governmental organization that was not reliable. The allegations had been recycled many times.
Saudi Arabia did not think the Committee was a tribunal, the delegation said; it had expected dialogue and cooperation rather than criticism, allegations and accusations. It had been disappointed.
Committee members put a few additional questions. Responding, the Saudi delegation said among other things that there was nothing to prevent women serving as judges or working as lawyers; some women worked as members of the religious police. The mass media had incorrectly reported what had occurred during a fire at a girl's school; the reason for the deaths of the girls was panic, which unfortunately did happen in such situations; an investigation had been carried out and the results had been made public.



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