#UnitedAgainstTorture
@irct.bsky.social
@omctorg.bsky.social
@redress.org
@fiacat-org.bsky.social

Indonesia: Four soldiers arrested for alleged links to acid attack on activist Andrie Yunus, who criticised the army's role in government, suffered burns to 20% of his body.

We note that soldiers have been detained for their alleged role in the attack, and support calls for an independent investigation & for perpetrators to be held to account.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

Indonesia: Four soldiers arrested for alleged links to acid attack on activist Andrie Yunus, who criticised the army's role in government, suffered burns to 20% of his body.

We share the concerns of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, & we support KontraS in their claim that this appears to be an "attempt to silence critical voices".

We were horrified to hear of the acid attack against Andrie Yunus from Komisi untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Tindak Kekerasan (KontraS), our valued partner in #Indonesia.
With KontraS, he has worked consistently to expose abuses of power, #HumanRights violations, & shrinking civic space in Indonesia.

‘Sonic Weapon’ Mystery Unsolved, One Year After Panic at Serbian Protest A year after a powerful noise sparked a stampede at a Belgrade vigil for victims of the Novi Sad station disaster – prompting speculation about use of a ‘sound weapon’ – Serbia’s institutions have not...

🔍We shared some of our expertise on the types of weapons used during protests for this new investigation from Katarina Baletić, Milica Stojanovic, & @jacksapoch.bsky.social
🔗: balkaninsight.com/2026/03/13/s...

📹Video shows an unusual response from the crowd: rather than running in all directions, as might be expected, the crowd appears to part down the centre of the street.

📝Explanations given by authorities do not appear to match the reality on the ground captured in video and witness accounts.

‘Sonic Weapon’ Mystery Unsolved, One Year After Panic at Serbian Protest A year after a powerful noise sparked a stampede at a Belgrade vigil for victims of the Novi Sad station disaster – prompting speculation about use of a ‘sound weapon’ – Serbia’s institutions have not...

⁉️What weapon made a noise so powerful that it sparked a stampede in Belgrade last year?

Torture-Free Trade Network - Omega Research Foundation

🤝 Join the Network: omegaresearchfoundation.org/what-we-do/t...
🪧 Sign Amnesty International's #ProtectTheProtest petition: www.amnesty.org/en/petition/...

#UnitedAgainstTorture

🇲🇳 We commend #Mongolia for the statement delivered on behalf of the 60+ states of the Alliance for Torture-Free Trade – the group of states committed to ending the trade in torture tools.

🇺🇳 Last week, the #TortureFreeTrade Network conducted an advocacy mission during the #HRC61. We met with States, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Edwards, & came together as a civil society Network calling for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty.

🌎 All around the world, specialist equipment is used in acts of torture & other ill-treatment. Despite this, there are no international, #HumanRights -based controls on the trade in tools of torture.

📣 New post!
Read the new blog from our partners WAVE Gambia on our website & learn about their work training law enforcement officers in The Gambia on international and national human rights standards: omegaresearchfoundation.org/.../spotligh...
#UnitedAgainstTorture

🔗 lnkd.in/dWWZzCni
Meeting number: 2744 095 8750
Password: 8neBMkKSm88
📺 Or watch @irct.bsky.social's live stream at www.YouTube.com/@IRCT
Co-sponsored by 🇨🇱Chile, 🇩🇰Denmark, 🇪🇺European Union & 🇨🇭Switzerland

🕰️ 1300-1400 CET
📍 Room IX, Palais des Nations (& online!)
🇺🇳 Speakers will include torture survivors Donatien Ndabigeze, Italia Mendez, and Shireen Khudeeda, with remarks from UN Special Rapporteur Dr. Alice Edwards and H.E. Ib Petersen, Ambassador of Denmark.

✨ Today in Geneva & online: join the #UnitedAgainstTorture Consortium for the launch of the Charter of Rights of Victims of Torture.

🔗 More information on projectile electric shock weapons, like Tasers, on our website: omegaresearchfoundation.org/what-we-do/e...

ICCL writes to Acting Deputy Commissioner of An Garda Síochána about the new taser pilot ICCL has written to the Acting Deputy Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, Strategy and Governance, Paul Cleary, on the new taser pilot.

🇮🇪 We have added our support to this letter from our colleagues at @iccl.bsky.social to the Acting Deputy Commissioner of An Garda Síochána about the new Taser pilot in Ireland. Read the letter & learn more about our shared concerns: www.iccl.ie/police-justi...

📢 Save the Date!
🗓️ Tuesday 3 March 1300 CET
❓ Launch of the Charter of Rights of Victims and Survivors of Torture
👉 Meeting is in-person and online. Links to follow!
🙏 Please share!

#UnitedAgainstTorture @irct.bsky.social @omctorg.bsky.social @redress.org @fiacat-org.bsky.social

#UnitedAgainstTorture

Spotlight on our partners: Belgrade Centre for Human Rights - Omega Research Foundation Between June and November 2025, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights implemented the project “Unlawful Use of Force by the Police or Other Government Officials in Serbia,” in response to escalating po...

📣New post! Read the new blog from our partners Belgrade Centre for Human Rights & learn about their work to address the unlawful use of force by police or other state officials in Serbia, responding to police use of force during mass student-led protests:🔗 omegaresearchfoundation.org/news/spotlig...

Spotlight on our partners: Cedar Centre for Legal Studies - Omega Research Foundation From 01 June to 30 November 2025, the Cedar Centre for Legal Studies (CCLS) implemented a targeted support initiative for survivors of torture in Lebanon, funded by the Omega Research Foundation as pa...

New blog alert! Read the new post from our partners Cedar Centre for Legal Studies where you can learn about their work to address the unlawful use of force by police or other state officials in Lebanon: omegaresearchfoundation.org/news/spotlig...

#UnitedAgainstTorture

💬 The session will conclude with an interactive Q&A
🌐 Interpretation available in French, Spanish, Arabic, and Ukrainian

#UnitedAgainstTorture @fiacat-org.bsky.social @omctorg.bsky.social

🎙️ Speakers include:
🔸Helen Close, Omega Research Foundation
🔸Ogoke Ngozi Gladys, @irct.bsky.social Survivor Advisory Board Member
🔸Renata Politi, @redress.org Legal Advisor
🔸Pornpen Noinoi Khongkachonkiet, Cross-Cultural Foundation Thailand Director

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Accountability for Torture in the Context of Protests . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. This webinar will explore strategies for documenting and addressing torture in the context of protests. It will convene practitioners, civil society organisations, and survivors to examine what consti...

Join this webinar bringing together experts, civil society, & survivors to discuss:
🔍 How torture manifests in protest contexts
🛠️ Documentation tools & investigative challenges
⚖️ Legal avenues & accountability mechanisms available to survivors
🔗: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

💻WEBINAR: Advancing Accountability for Torture in the Context of Protests
Across the world, protesters face excessive force, torture, and other ill-treatment, often outside detention settings and with little accountability. How can these violations be documented, and what pathways to justice exist?

NSW police punch man multiple times during Sydney anti-Herzog protest YouTube video by Guardian Australia

You can also watch the @australia.theguardian.com video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz2L...

Resources - Omega Research Foundation We have resources to help human rights defenders monitor, document, and identify law enforcement weapons and equipment.

Learn more about the international human rights standards around use of force: omegaresearchfoundation.org/omega-resour...

Video available via Guardian Australia (📸 used above is a still from the video) www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

New South Wales police are bound by the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality in their use of force. We call on Australian authorities to ensure that all officials are held accountable for any use of force, and to guarantee effective and independent investigations.

This appears to be a case of excessive, unjustified, and unlawful use of force by New South Wales police. It should be investigated as a possible case of #torture or other ill-treatment, which would be a crime.

🇦🇺 We’ve seen concerning videos of police use of force during protests in Sydney, #Australia, including footage that shows two officers repeatedly (at least 20 times) punching a person who has been restrained face down on the ground.