Human Rights Watch Calls for Investigation into Torture of Suspected Militants in Mali

Seven men say they were tortured by Malian forces

The government of Mali should investigate allegations that Malian soldiers tortured seven suspected supporters of Islamist armed groups in Léré, near Timbuktu, Human Rights Watch said today.

The seven men, all of whom showed visible signs of torture, described to Human Rights Watch being beaten and kicked, burned, injected with a caustic substance, and threatened with death while in army custody between February 15 and March 4, 2013. One said he was subjected to simulated drowning akin to "waterboarding."