Country has no law that defines torture: Sherry

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Vice President and Chairperson Foreign Affairs Senate Standing Committee Senator Sherry Rehman has said currently the country has no law that criminalises or explicitly defines torture.

She thanked the fellow senators for their support to pass her historic "Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill 2021."

Sherry Rehman said as a signatory to the international treaties, Pakistan has an obligation to criminalise torture but it is shocking that there is currently no existing law in Pakistan which criminalises or explicitly defines torture.

Now this legislation will provide a comprehensive definition of torture, delineating its various constituent elements. This is a substantive law which stipulates penalties for torture ranging from imprisonment to fine. This is a much-needed law which is long due and will protect the lives and dignity of our people.

She recalled that the torture by police remains widespread due to impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators which in turn is fueled by socio-cultural acceptance of violence, procedural and legal loopholes and lack of independent oversight of the police.

The bill defines custody and expressly states that a person shall be deemed to be in custody during search, arrest and seizure proceedings, effectively extending protection against torture to those who are investigated by police officials.

Custody also includes “judicial custody" and all forms of temporary and permanent restraint.

Senator Sherry said torture in custody is widely used to obtain confessions from people, whether in the criminal justice system or vulnerable members of society in general, especially those with no connections in the corridors of power. It highlights protocols regarding special protection from officials, who might have filed a complaint against.

This gender inclusive bill highlights certain methods of torture exclusively used against female victims and addresses every aspect of it meticulously. Discussing the salient features of the bill, she said: "It defines and criminalises torture, custodial death, custodial sexual violence, and prescribes penalties for it." The bill also criminalises death of a person ‘directly or indirectly caused by and substantially attributable to acts committed upon the deceased while in custody or after his release from custody’. The bill also explicitly criminalises sexual violence committed in custody, defining the aforementioned as ‘rape’ or sexual abuse’ or ‘any kind of sexual violence on a person...irrespective of the sex and gender of the perpetrator or the victim’.

conduct. This comprehensive law is for the protection of the vulnerable and has a mechanism for accountability, data collection, punishment and redressal”.