Torture: 4 officers get clean chit

The High Criminal Court yesterday acquitted four police officers and a lieutenant of torturing two detainees due to lack of evidence. The case was referred to trial by the Special Investigation Unit “SIU” after the victims filed a complaint accusing the officers of beating them.

Prosecutors said the officers wanted to extract confessions from the detainees who were kept in custody in connection with a drugs case. They allegedly assaulted the duo, tied their wrists to stairs and lifted them up.

However, the High Criminal Court stated in its ruling that case was built mainly based on the confessions of the victims, which were contradicted. “The court wasn’t also reassured with their (the victims) statements, as they gave different accounts of the event,” the court ruling read.

“Moreover, it wouldn’t be possible for the officers to hang the first defendant by his wrist for three hours on the first day and two hours on the second day without leaving visible marks on his wrists. The second victim stated that he was attacked on his back, but no wounds or bruises were found in this area,” the verdict read.