Torture, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment

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Brown v. Plata 131 S. Ct. 1910 (2011)

The case was a consolidation of two class actions brought under the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA), which allows prisoners to sue for violations of constitutional rights. California's prisons were designed to hold about 80,000 prisoners, but at the time of filing, the system held about 156,000. In both class actions, overcrowding was found to constitute an 8th Amendment violation because of a serious lack of access to basic medical care, with one case dealing specifically with prisoners with serious mental illness.

M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece, Application no. 30696/09

An Afghan citizen (Mr. M.S.S.) presented an asylum application in Belgium after entering the EU through Greece. Pursuant to the Dublin Regulations (EU law that determines which country has responsibility for processing specific asylum petitions), Belgium transferred him back to Greece in order for Greece to process the asylum petition. Greece detained the applicant in degrading conditions and then released him into the country to await a decision on his application. During this time, Mr. M.S.S. was homeless, not permitted to work, and had no access to sanitary facilities or any resources.

Mouisel v. France (Application No. No 67263/01 (2002) ECHR 740)

Jean Mouisel suffered from chronic lymphatic leukaemia. He was sentenced in 1996 to fifteen years' imprisonment for armed robbery. In 1999, while in prison, his condition deteriorated, requiring chemotherapy. He was transported to the hospital in handcuffs and claimed he was restrained during chemotherapy, though this was not proven. He stopped treatment in June 2000 citing conditions of treatment and aggressive behavior by guards. A June 28, 2000 medical report, produced by a request of the Ministry of Justice, concluded Mouisel required treatment in a specialized clinic.

The Case of Keenan v. the United Kingdom (Application no. 27229/95)

Mark Keenan received intermittent psychiatric treatment since the age of 21. At 28, Keenan was admitted to prison, initially to the prison health center. Several attempts were made to transfer him to the general population, but his mental health worsened each time. Following a transfer attempt, he assaulted two guards and his sentence was increased by twenty-eight days. The next day Keenan hung himself.

LMR v. Argentina (UN Doc. CCPR/C/101/D/1608/2007)

Born on 4 May 1987, LMR is a young woman living with her mother, VDA in Argentina. She has a mental impairment and has a mental age between 8 and 10 years old.. During a hospital visit she was found to be pregnant. Under section 82.6 of the Argentinean Criminal Code abortion is legal where the pregnancy is the result of the rape of a mentally impaired woman. LMR filed a police complaint and scheduled an abortion. Her abortion was prevented by an injunction against the hospital. LMR appealed unsuccessfully to the Civil Court.

R. (Adam and Limbuela) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department

The claimants in this joined action were asylum-seekers who had sought asylum after their initial entry to the UK. The defendant, Secretary of State for the Home Department, refused support under Section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration, and Asylum Act 2002 ("the Act") with regard to accommodation. Section 55 allowed refusal of support to asylum seekers who failed to make their claim as soon as reasonably practicable.

Case of N v. The United Kingdom

The applicant, Ms. N, a Ugandan national, entered the UK in March 1998. She was seriously ill and was diagnosed as HIV positive. She completed an asylum application within a few days, claiming she had been raped by the National Resistance Movement in Uganda because of her association with the Lord's Resistance Army. In August 1998, Ms. N developed Kaposi's sarcoma. In March 2001, a physician prepared an expert report which expressed that without regular antiretroviral treatment and monitoring, the applicant's life expectancy would be less than one year.

Mosetlhanyane and others v. Attorney General of Botswana, Civil Appeal No. CACLB-074-10

In 1985 De Beers mining company drilled a borehole for prospecting purposes and some of the water was supplied to settlements in CKGR. The Government later evicted and resettled the Basarwa outside of the CKGR because they felt that human settlements were incompatible with the conservation of wildlife in the preserve. In an attempt to dissuade the Basarwa from returning, the borehole was also dismantled as it was the only source of water within 40km. In 2006, in the Sesana case, the Court found that this eviction was unconstitutional and allowed the Basarwa to return to the CKGR.

Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) v. Sudan, Communication 296/2005

Since February 2003, following the emergence of an armed conflict in the Darfur region of the Sudan, militiamen known as Janjaweed have engaged in forcibly evicting, killing, and raping thousands of Black indigenous people in that region. The complainants alleged these acts were a failure of the government of Sudan to respect and protect the rights of the people of Darfur and in particular violated articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12 (1), 14, 16, 18 (1) and 22 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights. In affirming admissibility of the complaint, the Commission quoted its decisi

Free Legal Assistance Group and Others v. Zaire, Comm. No. 25/89, 47/90, 56/91, 100/93

The claims brought by four NGOs against former Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) alleging a gross mismanagement of public finances by the government leading to degrading conditions, shortages of medicine, education and basic services. The government allegedly failed to provide these services impairing its people from obtaining adequate medical treatment and from accessing basic education.