Former political detainee alleges army torture

One of the "Dordabis detainees" recently released by Namibian authorities has claimed that he was tortured for several days at a military base in the northern town of Rundu after his arrest in 2000. Aurelio Samakupa (58) has alleged that members of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) subjected him to "severe" torture during interrogations. Samakupa has approached the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) to begin legal proceedings against the government. According to the NSHR, Samakupa was tortured "Lubango style" over two days. "He [Samakupa] alleged five 'strong men' tied his hands behind his back and hanged him upside down above a water container. His head was then completely submerged in the water in an attempt to suffocate him ... he lost consciousness," the NSHR said in a statement. According to the NSHR the torture method used against Samakupa had extensively been used against hundreds of alleged SWAPO (ruling party) dissidents held in underground detention centres near the southern Angolan city of Lubango before Namibian independence. Samakupa was released in late December 2002 after being held at the Dordabis prison, some 100 km southeast of the capital Windhoek, for more than two years. None of the original 82 detainees, accused of being members of Angola's former rebel group UNITA, were charged or brought before a court of law. The Windhoek-based Legal Assistance Centre's Toni Hancox, who represented Samakupa prior to his release, said: "We have yet to receive instructions from Mr Samakupa to take up the case but we would encourage that he does considering that he was detained for so long without any reason." Hancox, however, pointed out that under the country's statute of limitations, a civil claim against the government had to be made within 12 months of an arrest. "The government may argue that the 12 month period has elapsed but then one could argue that Mr Samakupa's detention prevented him form lodging a civil claim. This could fall under extraordinary circumstances. In fact, a case could be brought challenging the constitutionality of the 12 month limitation," Hancox added. Defence ministry spokesman Vincent Mwange told IRIN that the department was not aware of the allegations of torture. Mwange said: "We cannot comment on these allegations as we have not received any report. Also, we are not aware of any acts of torture against any of the detainees." Following an agreement between the Namibian and Angolan government, 74 of the remaining Dordabis detainees were handed over to the Angolan authorities on 21 December 2002. Of the original number, two were released soon after detention as they possessed valid national documents of Angola. Two died in custody, and a further two were found to be Namibian nationals.