Freed Doctor Recounts Libyan Torture

(NEWSER) - Moammar Gadhafi's son burnished his pro-Western image yesterday by admitting that Libya had tortured 5 nurses and a doctor once accused of spreading HIV among children, the AP reports. Seif al-Islam Gadhafi conceded that the "Benghazi six" were electrocuted and threatened after their 1999 imprisonment, but he did not apologize, and even accused one of exaggerating the torture he endured. More»

(NEWSER) - Libya announced details today about the deal that freed six foreign medical workers, as it officially protested the pardoning of the workers by the Bulgarian government, BBC reports. The group had been imprisoned in Libya since 1999 for infecting 438 children with HIV/AIDS. But international experts say there was absolutely no basis for the charges. More»

Doctors Without Borders suspends work over 'exploitation'

(NEWSER) - Some of Libya's reported 8,500 detainees have died following torture, says Amnesty International, citing patients with open head, limb, and back wounds. "The torture is being carried out by officially recognized military and security entities as well as by a multitude of armed militias operating outside any legal framework," a rep for the activist group tells the BBC . Doctors Without Borders is suspending its work in Misrata over concerns that it's being "exploited" by interrogators. More»

Isolation longer than 15 days should be banned, says lead investigator

(NEWSER) - Solitary confinement doesn't just sound like torture—it literally can be torture, according to the UN's lead investigator on the topic. Juan Mendez has called for a ban on solitary confinement in excess of 15 days, and a total ban on the practice when juveniles or people with mental disabilities are concerned. Speaking to a UN General Assembly human rights committee, Mendez referenced studies that found negative physical and mental effects from spending just a few days in solitary confinement. More»

Meanwhile, ICC claims Libya ordered killing of civilians

(NEWSER) - In pictures uncovered by journalists in Zawiyah, the dead prisoners of Moammar Gadhafi's forces are shown naked or clad only in underwear, hands bound, backs scarred. Other pictures depict ominous scenes: Puddles of blood, a saw. The pictures were discovered in a burned-out police station, where one worker pointed to a dark room and implied it was used to execute prisoners. After nearly a week of fighting, Gadhafi's forces retook Zawiyah from the rebels, leaving the city devastated, the New York Times reports. More»