Nooshin Erfani-Ghadimi, project co-ordinator of the Wits Justice Project, said that one of the main reasons for police brutality was that torture was not criminalised, and the use of force was not properly defined or restricted.
Read WATCH: Shocking footage of alleged police brutality in Fourways emerges (WARNING: Graphic images)
“Most people are shocked to learn that torture is not a crime in South Africa, even though it is outlawed by the Constitution,” she said.
Erfani-Ghadimi added that South Africa ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture in 1998, but was yet to domesticate the law. “The torture bill, in the works since 2003, has been tabled in Parliament, and the National Assembly committee on justice and constitutional development has heard submissions on it from experts and civil society representatives.”
Although the law is yet to be passed, Erfani-Ghadimi explained that implementing the act would take years.
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