Violence instead of vigilance [electronic resource] : torture and illegal detention by Uganda's Rapid Response Unit

"March 2011"--Table of contents p.

Includes bibliographical references.

Summary -- Recommendations -- To the President and Government of Uganda -- To the Uganda Police Force, Particularly the Police Standards Unit and the Criminal Investigations Department of Police -- To the Ugandan Judiciary -- To the Parliament of Uganda -- To the Uganda Human Rights Commission -- To the United States, the United Kingdom, and Other Concerned Governments, Especially Development Partners in the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) -- To the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) -- Methodology -- I. Background -- Operation Wembley -- Violent Crime Crack Unit (VCCU) -- Rapid Response Unit (RRU) -- II. Applicable International and National Law -- III. RRU Abuses -- Extrajudicial Killings -- The Killing of Frank Ssekanjako -- The Killing of Henry Bakasamba -- The Killings in Kyengera -- Other Killings -- Torture -- Forced Confessions -- Illegal and Incommunicado Detention -- Theft of Suspects' Property, Extortion, and Theft of Evidence -- Public Parading of Criminal Suspects -- Trials of Civilians before Military Courts -- Opportunities to Address Abuses by Rapid Response Unit -- Commitments to Address Abusive RRU Practices -- The Role of the Police Standards Unit (PSU) -- The Role of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) -- Uganda's Duty to Provide Lawyers to Defendants -- Annex 1: Letter from HRW to Police -- Annex 2: Police Letter to HRW -- Acknowledgments.

In 2007, Uganda's government established the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) with a mandate to investigate violent crime in Uganda. Emerging out of the notorious ad-hoc Operation Wembley security unit, RRU targets people accused of a range of criminal activity and often subjects suspects to vicious beatings to force confessions. It then hands civilian suspects to military courts for prosecution to skirt safeguards in the civilian court system. This report documents how RRU, part of the Uganda police force, routinely carries out illegal detention, torture, and in some instances extrajudicial killings - at least six suspects in 2010. It details the extortion of money from suspects and robbery victims, the use of excessive force during arrest; prolonged, illegal, and sometimes incommunicado detention of suspects at RRU headquarters in Kireka, Kampala; and routine use of torture during interrogations. Impunity for such actions remains the norm. However, in an important and positive step, police in August 2010 arrested three RRU officers accused of beating a suspect to death. During 13 months of research, Human Rights Watch conducted 108 interviews with individuals knowledgeable about the operations of RRU and its predecessors, the Violent Crime Crack Unit and Operation Wembley, including over 77 current and former detainees held in various locations throughout Uganda. This report calls on Uganda's government to address persistent allegations of torture by RRU, dismiss known human rights abusers from its ranks, issue a no-tolerance policy on torture, and hold its forces accountable through criminal sanctions. To safeguard against torture and unfair trial, the government should urgently devise a legal aid system that allows suspects to access a lawyer from the start of their detention.

Title from PDF title screen (Human Rights Watch, viewed on Mar. 26, 2011).

"This report was researched and written by Maria Burnett, senior researcher in the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, significantly assisted by Africa Division consultant Soo-Ryun Kwon."--P. 55.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.