Treason trialists seek damages for "excessive" force

Namibian human rights activists on Friday said a case of alleged assault against the government has lent credibility to accusations that a group of detainees charged with treason were being singled out for "excessive" punishment in custody.

Twelve treason suspects are sueing the minister of prisons and correctional services for alleged assault by wardens at the Grootfontein prison on 7 August 2000.

The men alleged that a week after they held a demonstration at the Grootfontein Magistrate's Court, prison officers assaulted them, beating them with batons and injuring them.

Some 123 people are still awaiting trial charged with promoting secessionism for the northeastern Caprivi Strip region.

"The case is just another example that the trialists have, since 1998, been subjected to undue punishment and torture. The evidence available, including photographs, is irrefutable that prison officers did indeed use excessive force in this case," Director of the Namibian Society for Human Rights (NSHR) Phil ya Nongoloh told IRIN.

But Nixon Marcus, one of the lawyers representing the minister denied the alleged assaults. He said that where violence was used by prison warders, it necessary to get a "riotous" situation under control.

"Our case is based on the Prisons Act which clearly states that when necessary, prison officers may use force against violent behaviour. The government feels that the force used against the plaintiffs was within the law," Marcus told IRIN.

Earlier this month the NSHR called for an investigation into the killing of five alleged Caprivi secessionist rebels in the northeast of the country by the security forces.

Eight detainees accused of supporting the Caprivi secessionist movement have died in police custody since 1999.