Denmark: Investigation welcomed
01 January 1991
Denmark: Investigation welcomed
artdoc February=1996
DENMARK: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL WELCOMES INITIATIVES FOLLOWING
CHRISTIANIA INVESTIGATION
Amnesty International welcomes the prompt announcement by the
Director of Copenhagen Police of initiatives to be taken in
relation to criticism raised in the report of the
investigation of 11 cases of alleged ill-treatment in
Christiania.
These initiatives include: clarifying the police
regulation on the use of handcuffs and exploring the
requisitioning of new handcuffs which, according to the
Director of Copenhagen Police, would cause less discomfort.
"We see the initiatives of the police and government authorities
in this case as signs of their commitment to ensure that the
methods of restraint used by the police in the future will not
lead to ill-treatment," Amnesty International said.
The report of the investigation into these 11 cases highlights
concerns raised in Amnesty International's June 1994 report on
alleged ill-treatment by police, including repetitive instances
in which people detained by the police were placed face down on
the ground and handcuffed behind their backs. In some cases the
handcuffs were so tight that those detained lost feeling in their
hands. Some were placed in the fixed leg-lock, an extremely
painful and dangerous method of restraint which Amnesty
International considered to be cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment or punishment.
Amnesty International has welcomed many of the
initiatives taken to date by the Danish Government aimed at
preventing the instances of ill-treatment in the future. Such
initiatives include:
- permanent suspension of the use of the fixed leg-lock as a
method of restraint;
- initiation of a wide-ranging review of restraint and self-
defence methods used by police;
- payment of compensation to people found to have
suffered ill-treatment at the hands of the police;
- initiation of investigations into individual
allegations of police ill-treatment.
Amnesty International is hopeful that in the future, the
government will keep under regular review police
training, regulations, equipment and practices as required by
international standards. In addition, when there is reason to
believe that acts of ill-treatment by law enforcement
officials have occurred, that the authorities will:
- initiate prompt and impartial investigations aimed at
uncovering the facts, making the results of such
investigations public;
- bring to justice in the course of criminal or
disciplinary proceedings those people alleged to be responsible
for acts of ill-treatment; and,
- pay reasonable compensation to victims of ill-
treatment for the injuries and ill-treatment suffered.
In doing so, the Danish authorities will be taking
steps to prevent repetition of these unfortunate incidents, to
ensure protection of the human rights of those within its borders
and to comply with their obligations set forth in international
human rights treaties which the government has ratified.
Amnesty International, November 1995