Hundreds still die in police custody

DEATHS in police custody continue, with official statistics showing that 266 people died in detention during the last financial year.

In evidence handed in at the inquest into the death in police custody of Ahmed Timol in 1971, advocate Howard Varney said that 266 people died in police custody, of whom 66 allegedly committed suicide by means of hanging, 3 466 detainees were assaulted and 144 tortured.

But researchers believe that the deaths, assault and torture in police custody are a lot higher than official statistics indicate.

Researcher at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, Malusi Langa, said the stats published by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) may not reflect all the deaths and torture cases.

“If we had reliable ways of collecting the numbers, they would be way higher than that. Many cases in South Africa may not be meeting the classical definition of torture.”

Langa said the centre had numerous case studies of people being brutalised by police and these were classified as “cruel”, “inhumane” or “degrading”.

“Putting you in a cell with no food or water, without legal representation and releasing you without being charged wouldn’t be classified as torture, but when you looking at such cases, you certainly find elements of cruelty and degrading behaviour.”

Ipid spokesperson Moses Dlamini said the directorate was concerned by the cases reported to it, but found that in some cases police were found to be within the bounds of the law.