Some are held in solitary confinement, denied any contact with fellow prisoners. All face interrogation until they sign confessions or, in the case of political prisoners, pledge to renounce or stop their political activities. Secret and summary justice Detainees are routinely denied their rights guaranteed by international fair trial standards. They are generally kept totally in the dark about their cases, sometimes to the point where they are unaware that they have been convicted. Such denial of information leads to unnecessary suffering, as prisoners may not know why they are in jail, for how long they will be imprisoned, or whether they face execution.
Court hearings are secret and summary.
This means that the families of defendants as well as the general public are denied their right to be present in court in order to know how justice is administered. Court hearings generally last between five minutes and two hours. This applies even in the most serious cases involving capital crimes or offences punishable by flogging or amputation of limbs. The speed of court hearings is partly explained by the fact that defendants have no right to a lawyer or adequate opportunity to mount a defence. In cases known to Amnesty International, defendants have been denied the opportunity to call witnesses.