A UN expert has says the inquiry into UK complicity in allegations of torture must be open and transparent.

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UK torture inquiry ‘must be open’

‘Austin Powers’ actor has been convicted of torture.

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Actor Accused of Killing Cellmate

A United Nations report provides a devastating picture of abuses committed by arms of the Afghanistan government as foreign forces there are moving to wind down their presence.

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U.N. Report Finds Routine Abuse of Afghan Detainees

The High Court has rejected an attempt by the UK’s human rights watchdog to rule guidance on torture is unlawful.

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Judges reject torture challenge

MEXICO CITY — Top Mexican security officials said Thursday that there is no evidence that true paramilitary groups are operating in Mexico, countering video boasts by a shadowy group of masked men who asserted responsibility for the torture-murder of 35 alleged drug cartel members last week. A group calling itself the Zeta Killers said it dumped the half-naked, bound and beaten corpses of 11 women and 24 men at a busy intersection in the tourist zone of Veracruz last week. Read full article > >

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Mexico denies that paramilitaries operate

Eliza Manningham Buller, the former head of MI5, has said torture is “wrong and never justified” in the second of her BBC Radio Reith Lectures

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Torture never right – ex-MI5 head

KABUL — NATO officials in Afghanistan stopped transferring detainees to Afghan custody in several provinces this week in response to a U.N. investigation that found evidence of systematic torture at some detention centers, the military command said Tuesday night. The move represents a serious setback for the United States and its allies in Afghanistan at a time when the international community is beginning to pull out troops and shift more responsibility for security to the Afghans. The findings of a report on detainee abuse, which the U.N. mission here intends to make public in coming days, will probably embolden insurgent groups, which have sought to portray Afghan officials as lackeys of Western crusaders. Read full article > >

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NATO stops sending detainees to Afghan jails after abuse reports

An inquiry into the death of hotel receptionist Baha Mousa in British custody in Iraq will clear the Army of systematic torture, it has been reported.

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VIDEO: Army ‘cleared’ in Iraq torture probe

An inquiry into the death of hotel receptionist Baha Mousa in British custody in Iraq will clear the Army of systematic torture, it has been reported.

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VIDEO: Army ‘cleared’ in Iraq torture probe

OSLO, Norway — A court on Friday extended the isolation detention of the man who confessed to the killings of 77 people in Norway by four more weeks. The Oslo District Court said Anders Behring Breivik must be kept in complete isolation by police partly for fear he would tamper with evidence and contact possible accomplices. Judge Hugo Abelseth acknowledged that Breivik had described his isolation as “boring and monotononous, and as a sadistic torture method,” but said he must nonetheless spend at least four more weeks there. He said his next hearing would be Sept. 19. Read full article > >

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Norwegian court extends by 4 weeks isolation detention of confessed killer of 77 people

A gay Ugandan man living in Portsmouth who says he will be tortured because of his sexuality if sent home, avoids deportation.

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Gay man’s deportation is deferred

Despite a poor human rights record, the U.S. still broadly engages with the country’s dictator, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

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Malabo Journal: U.S. Engages With an Iron Leader in Equatorial Guinea

When Odd Future performs at Washington’s Rock & Roll Hotel on Wednesday, the young L.A. hip-hop collective will rap about murder, rape, kidnapping, arson, torture and necrophilia. It’ll also rap about absentee fathers, puppy love crushes and how none of its absurdly violent boasts is actually true. It’s the most hyped pop act of 2011, and the most complex: a handful of bratty, sometimes-brilliant rappers, singers and producers who have spent the past year enchanting bloggers while building a feverishly devout­­ fan base. Their vulgar lyrics grabbed the pop world’s attention, and their reckless charisma has managed to keep it. Read full article > >

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Odd Future rap group draws fans with online savvy, critics with violent lyrics

An American detained for more than two months in the United Arab Emirates faces up to seven years in prison for stealing police handcuffs, an allegation he says he only confessed to after being tortured.

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American held in UAE alleges torture

O sama bin Laden’s welcome death has ignited debate over whether the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques used on enemy prisoners were instrumental in locating bin Laden, and whether they are a justifiable means for gathering intelligence. Much of this debate is a definitional one: whether any or all of these methods constitute torture. I believe some of them do, especially waterboarding, which is a mock execution and thus an exquisite form of torture. As such, they are prohibited by American laws and values, and I oppose them. Read full article > >

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Bin Laden’s death and the debate over torture