Stronger action is necessary to prevent and punish the rampant use of torture in Cambodia, according to LICADHO.

“Countless Cambodian men, women and children have their lives destroyed by acts of torture,” said LICADHO president Kek Galabru on June 26, the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. “Most victims are left to struggle with the physical and psychological consequences for years, while their torturers go unpunished.”

Forms of torture commonly used in Cambodia include: the abuse of criminal suspects by the police; whippings and beatings committed by human traffickers and brothel pimps to control their victims; and the growing phenomenon of acid attacks usually motivated by jealousy or revenge.

“The legacy of the torture and violence of the past lives on every day in Cambodia,” said Kek Galabru. “The violence of today will breed more violence tomorrow, in an endless cycle. It’s time for some real action to break this cycle, punish perpetrators and prevent more abuses.”

The most institutionalized use of torture in Cambodia is by the police, to extract confessions from criminal suspects, punish them or extort money from them for their release. More than 100 prison inmates interviewed by LICADHO in 2003 reported that they were tortured or threatened while in police custody after their arrests. The real level of police torture is difficult to assess, as LICADHO’s prison interviews are often not conducted privately and prisoners may be afraid to talk about torture in front of prison guards.

Police torturers are rarely prosecuted and almost never imprisoned. In 2002, three Svay Rieng policemen were convicted of physical assault for torturing two schoolchildren, but received suspended three-month prison sentences. In neighboring Prey Veng province, three policemen were charged with voluntary manslaughter in connection with the 2001 death of a man in police custody but, three years later, have yet to be brought to trial. The last time that

a Cambodian law enforcement officer actually served time in prison for torture was in 1995, when a Prey Veng military policeman spent four months in prison for beating a 13-year-old boy who died during interrogation.

The UN Committee Against Torture in 2003 expressed concern about “numerous, ongoing and consistent allegations” of torture in Cambodian police stations and prisons. The committee urged the government to take action to combat torture, including the establishment of an independent body to deal with complaints against the police.

Another, especially common forum for torture is the sex trade. Beatings and threats are routinely used to force unwilling young girls and women to work as prostitutes, and to punish them for trying to escape.

A less common but particularly destructive form of torture is acid attacks, in which perpetrators throw corrosive acid into the faces of their victims. At least 75 acid attacks have occurred in Cambodia since November 1999, injuring at least 104 people and killing seven, according to LICADHO monitoring of newspaper reports. Victims included men, women and children aged as young as 4.

“For victims, acid throwing is a type of torture which never ends - the huge physical damage and scarring, as well as the psychological trauma, lasts forever,” said Kek Galabru. “This is an especially cruel form of brutality which must be eradicated before it grows more and more common.”

June 26 - which marks the day that the UN Convention Against Torture came into force in 1987 - was proclaimed International Day in Support of Victims of Torture by the UN General Assembly four years ago. Cambodia ratified the Convention in 1992. The UN day is designed to promote support for torture survivors and the eradication of torture worldwide.

For more information, please contact:
▪ Kek Galabru, LICADHO president, 012-802-506

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