Torture in Mozambique

Volume 1 1988

Amnesty International has issued a 16- page report, documenting human rights abuses in Mozambique.

According to the report, there are two principal forms of torture. The one is flogging the victim’s bare skin with whips. The other is called “cordas” (or ropes). The victim’s hands are tied extremely tightly behind his back with wet ropes, and he or she is then left for several hours. While the ropes dry and contract, the skin tears apart, the muscles swell and arms become paralyzed. This torture is sometimes enhanced when the ropes are first soaked in salt, or when the victim is left in the sun. ‘Cordas” victims are often paralyzed for several weeks, and their wounds often become infected or infested with bugs and worms.

The International Society for Human Rights reports that torture in the prisons of Mozambique is the norm. Sanitary facilities and medical care are extremely poor. Nutrition is seldom adequate.