Monday, April 29, 2013
A human rights group in Garissa has threatened to take legal action against the government over alleged harassment and torture on local residents by police.
Northern Forum For Democracy spokesman Khalif Abdi Farah said the organization has enough evidence to back allegations of rights abuses by officers during the ongoing security operations in the town.
“It is very unfortunate that as we are speaking hundreds of innocent people are nursing injuries inflicted on them by police officers. The officers have been secretly picking up some individuals then taking them at some secret locations and afterwards torture them on allegations that they are terror suspects,” said Khalif.
He claimed a high school student is among those tortured by officers. Stating that the pupil at County High School who has been missing for a week might have been a victim of police torture and may have also been killed.
“As much as we support the operation going on in Garissa to catch the criminals, we are totally against what the police are currently doing - torturing and even killing individuals at will,” he said.
His statement comes just two days after Muslim clerics also cried foul over the manner in which the operation in Garissa was being carried out.
Speaking on Friday the clerics’ spokesman Sheikh Hussein said police had resorted to “harassing and victimizing the locals under the disguise of looking for criminals”.
Northeastern OCPD Charlton Mureithi however dismissed the allegations stating that security personnel have acted professionally during the operation.
The massive operation to find those responsible for a spate of killings by unknown assailants in Garissa county kicked off last week following the fatal shooting of ten people in a hotel on April 18.
Source: Nairobi Star