OMCT denounces arbitrary arrests, detentions

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT- French abbreviation) has said it is “gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity” of 10 persons arrested while organising a protest against human rights abuses by the Operational Command, a special anti-crime unit. According to reports reaching the OMCT, the 10 were arrested while organising a rally to mourn the victims of the Operational Command, set up in February 2000 to combat banditry, but accused of human rights abuses. The Geneva-based OMCT said on Tuesday that it was particularly worried about one of the detainees, Olivier Sande, who “has already survived 40 days of incarceration and ill-treatment by the Operational Command” and is “a key witness of human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial executions, allegedly conducted by the Operational Command”.