Many political killings in Asia, says Amnesty

Press, 22 October 1986, Page 24

Many political killings in Asia, says Amnesty

NZPA-Reuter London Amnesty International has reported widespread political killings and torture in Asia, saying that Soviet troops deliberately shot dead civilians in Afghanistan and that Sri Lankan troops killed peaceful members of the Tamil minority. The London-based human rights organisation also said in its 1985 annual report that hundreds of people ( were jailed without trial in

Kampuchea where political prisoners had been tortured and held in shackles in solitary confinement without light. Hundreds of political activists, trying to exercise basic human rights, were jailed and tortured in Bangladesh, South Korea, Nepal and Pakistan, Amnesty said. Indonesia cracked down on Muslim activists. Indian forces detained hundreds of people and tortured prisoners.

“In Afghanistan, there were reports of non-com-batant civilians being deliberately killed by Soviet troops. Forms of torture reported included beating, burning with cigarettes, removal of fingernails, insertion of a bottle in the rectum, sleep deprivation, exposure to cold or to sun, standing in water or snow, mock execution and witnessing the torture of others. “Consistent accounts were given of various

forms of electric shock torture, the use of electric shock batons, the application of current ... to the fingers, toes, ears, tongue and penis and the use of an electric chair. Several reports referred to the presence of Soviet personnel during interrogation under torture,’’ Amnesty said. The organisation also said Muslim guerrillas fighting the Kabul Government had executed Soviet and Afghan soldiers. In China, political prisoners, including

leaders of the so-called Democracy Movement which emerged in the late 19705, were being held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods, causing severe damage to their physical and mental health, Amnesty said. Amnesty said it was concerned about a rise in executions in Japan where three people, convicted of murder, were put to death last year. The organisation said Tamil civilians were tortured, killed or disappeared at the hands of Government troops.