The report says atrocities are prevalent where armed conflict is taking place. But where armed conflict did not exist in Europe, there were still complaints of torture and human rights abuses, says the organisation. The U.K. also received strong criticism from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture for its system of dealing with ill treatment by the police. Police in Bulgaria frequently used intimidation and excessive force, while in July the European Court of Human Rights found France guilty of violating international standards on torture and fair trial. Elsewhere, prison conditions in Italy, Russia and Portugal are below the international minimum standards, often amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and accompanied by acts of violence from prison staff and inmates.
Torture is prevalent throughout Europe.
European countries should work harder to uphold standards and end the blight of impunity which exists for police and security forces. Respect for human rights includes bringing to justice those who violate them. Amnesty says the latest incidents of torture in Europe include the death in custody of a member of the Romany community in Portugal, the alleged ill treatment of Afghan asylum-seekers at a detention centre in Hungary and the racist abuse of a teenage Angolan student in Switzerland.