Human Rights Watch: Ghana, Gaza and Abusive marriage

Ghana: Personas con discapacidad mental sufren graves abusos.
Numerosas personas con discapacidad mental sufren graves abusos en instituciones psiquiátricas y centros de sanación espiritual de Ghana, indicó Human Rights Watch en un informe difundido hoy. El gobierno de Ghana no ha adoptado suficientes medidas para combatir estos abusos o asegurar que estas personas puedan ejercer su derecho a vivir en comunidad, reconocido por el derecho internacional.

El informe de 84 páginas, “‘Like a Death Sentence’: Abuses against Persons with Mental Disabilities in Ghana” [Casi una sentencia de muerte: Abusos contra personas con discapacidad mental en Ghana],muestra que miles de personas con discapacidad mental son obligadas a vivir en este tipo de instituciones, muchas veces contra su voluntad y con escasas oportunidades de oponerse a esta reclusión. En los hospitales psiquiátricos, las personas con discapacidad mental viven hacinadas en instalaciones que no reúnen condiciones básicas de higiene. Y en algunos de los centros de sanación espiritual, más conocidos como centros de oración, a menudo son encadenadas a árboles, bajo un sol abrasador, y obligadas a ayunar durante semanas como parte del “proceso de curación”, a la vez que se les niega el acceso a medicamentos.


Gaza: Arbitrary Arrests, Torture, Unfair Trials.

(Gaza City) – Palestinians face serious abuses in the Hamas criminal justice system, including arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, torture, and unfair trials. Since it took control of Gaza in 2007, Hamas has executed at least three men convicted on the basis of “confessions” apparently obtained under torture.

The 43-page report, “Abusive System: Criminal Justice in Gaza,” documents extensive violations by Hamas security services, including warrantless arrests, failure to inform families promptly of detainees’ whereabouts, and subjecting detainees to torture. It also documents violations of detainees’ rights by prosecutors and courts. Military courts frequently try civilians, in violation of international law. Prosecutors often deny detainees access to a lawyer, and courts have failed to uphold detainees’ due process rights in cases of warrantless arrest and abusive interrogations, Human Rights Watch found.

Trapped in an Abusive Marriage.

When Namrata, a Bangladeshi Hindu, asked for a glass of water, her husband instead gave her a glass of acid. Today, with her mouth and throat destroyed, she eats through a feeding tube. Having already spent her life savings, her husband disappeared after the attack.

Yet Namrata cannot legally divorce her husband due to Bangladesh’s archaic Hindu family laws.

Bangladesh’s family laws, which govern marriage, separation, and divorce, were created decades ago – in some cases, more than a century. There are separate laws for Muslims, Hindus, and Christians, but all discriminate against women – often leaving them with virtually no income or assets and nowhere to live when marriages end.