Ms. Carmichele stayed at a friend’s place where Coetzee, a man who had previous history of violence and sexual misconduct, stalked her and walked around the house. She and her friend reported Coetzee’s abnormal behavior to the local police station but the police claimed that they could do nothing about him. Eventually one day when …Read more

In January 1999 the Standard, a weekly newspaper, published an article alleging a failed coup by senior members of the army. Several reasons for the coup were given including mismanagement of the economy and involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The first applicant, the editor of the Standard, was arrested …Read more

The applicants, who were heroine addicts, had been arrested and convicted for drug related offences. Upon their arrest, the solicitor had maintained that they were unfit to be interviewed as they were displaying early stages of heroine withdrawal. However, the Force Medical Examiner assessed both applicants as fit to be interviewed. Both applicants failed to …Read more

The applicant alleged that his brother had been severely beaten by police when they apprehended him at his village and that he was not provided with the necessary medical treatment for his life-threatening injuries. He also complained of discrimination on the basis of his brother’s Kurdish origin. In 1992, the applicant Nasır İlhan and his …Read more

W, an Assistant Superintendent of Customs, was arrested on 30 April 1996 by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) acting on the second respondent’s (DIG Sumanasekera) instructions on suspicion of aiding and abetting the smuggling of illegal weapons. They purported to act under s 6(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No 48 of …Read more

In June 1992 four police officers attended an apartment from which an unknown trouble call to the police had originated. An unknown trouble call is an emergency call to the police in which the line is disconnected before the caller speaks. Such calls are deemed by police policy to be the second highest priority distress …Read more

Five youths, three of whom were minors, were “street children” abducted, tortured, and killed by State security agents.  The children lived in a sector of the city where violence and crime rate were high and where State officials commit illegal acts against “street children,” including “threats, arrests, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and homicides as …Read more

The petitioner, a Canadian citizen, was arrested along with two acquaintances when the group attempted to enter Spain with large quantities of hashish concealed in their vehicle. The petitioner claimed to have no knowledge of the contraband, and his acquaintances also told police that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the examining magistrate incarcerated …Read more

While arresting Mr. Hurtado, Swiss police officers threw a stun grenade, forced Mr. Hurtado to the ground, and handcuffed and hooded him. The officers allegedly then beat Mr. Hurtado until he lost consciousness, and he was not allowed to change out of his dirty clothes for at least a day. Mr. Hurtado asked to see …Read more

The plaintiffs brought a class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and about 6,000 other homeless persons against the City of Miami, Florida. They claimed that by arresting and seizing the property of the plaintiffs, the City’s police officers violated the plaintiffs’ rights under the United States and Florida Constitutions. The plaintiffs claimed that it …Read more