Catholic Church ‘horrified’ by torture videos, calls for ‘severe punishment’

Cardinal Maurice Piat, head of the Catholic Church in Mauritius, has said he was “horrified by the torture inflicted by police officers on citizens who were in their custody”.

Reacting to videos where three handcuffed men are seen being tortured by police officers, Cardinal Piat said “this appalling violation of basic human rights by the police, themselves supposed to enforce the law, has plunged the population into a feeling of insecurity”.

The head of the Catholic Church in Mauritius added that “through the practice of torture, the police, whose duty is to protect citizens, have themselves become a source of social disturbance”.

He is of the opinion that “no situation can justify the transgression of these rights”.

“In such a climate, citizens expect a burst of conscience and action from the authorities; that they stand as a bulwark to defend the the rule of law.

According to Cardinal Piat, “it is essential that those guilty of such gratuitous violence be severely punished and curtailed in their actions.”