The press release announces Amnesty International's testimony before the U.S. Congress regarding the use of political imprisonment, torture, and the death penalty in Rhodesia/ Zimbabwe, which has been increasing sharply since the beginning of 1978. Researcher Malcolm Smart presented these findings before the International Organizations and African Subcommittees of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Smart's testimony says methods of torture apparently include severe beatings, the use of electric shocks, whipping on the soles of the feet, and repeated immersion, head-first, in barrel s of water until unconscious. With the introduction of martial law in September 1978, the power to impose the...
The press release announces Amnesty International's testimony before the U.S. Congress regarding the use of political imprisonment, torture, and the death penalty in Rhodesia/ Zimbabwe, which has been increasing sharply since the beginning of 1978. Researcher Malcolm Smart presented these findings before the International Organizations and African Subcommittees of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Smart's testimony says methods of torture apparently include severe beatings, the use of electric shocks, whipping on the soles of the feet, and repeated immersion, head-first, in barrel s of water until unconscious. With the introduction of martial law in September 1978, the power to impose the death penalty has been extended to military officers without legal training, and the right of judicial review has been removed. AI said that since secrecy was imposed in 1975 it is impossible to know how many people have been killed, but at least 150 are believed to have been hanged. The press release discusses Section 19 of the Emergency Powers Act, the Indemnity and Compensation Act, and the internal settlement.
