By Jonathan Ancer and Gill Gifford
While Saliem Bartis awaits a damages payout after being tortured by police, experts have called for his torturers to be brought to book.
The South African Police Service has a prevention-of-torture policy, signed in terms of the country's international obligations.
However, David Bruce, a researcher at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, said stamping out torture was not just about a policy.
"The authorities need to show they are serious about eradicating police torture, and this means that those implicated in its practice must be held accountable."
A report in The Star on Wednesday said that Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula had conceded that 25-year-old Bartis was tortured by members of the now defunct Brixton Murder and Robbery Unit in 2000.
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State attorney Hennie Lampbrechts, acting for the minister, noted that an offer for compensation would follow.
Bartis, who was not the subject of an investigation, said police applied electric shocks to his genitals six times in a bid to extract information from him.
Jody Kollapen, of the Human Rights Commission, said the incident, while not justified in any way, should be viewed in a broader context. "My sense is that the criminal justice system is still functioning on a punitive, retributive basis, and this is hard to deal with when you look at things like deaths in police custody and people sent to jail who maybe shouldn't be there."
Kollapen added that the torture case should not be viewed in isolation, but that the high levels of public outrage against high levels of crime should be taken into account.
"The problem is with organs of justice feeling they have carte blanche to deal with any problem as they see fit.
"We can't ignore the pressures police find themselves under and the impact it has on police conduct - although this can never be justified."
Roy Jankielsohn, DA spokesperson on safety and security, said: "It's sad that a few bad apples within the force tarnish the reputation of other hardworking police officers."
- This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on August 19, 2004
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