IRCT [to 28 March 2015]
http://www.irct.org/

Statements & declarations
Turkey cracks down on civil society organisations, fines Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
27 March 2015
The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, Europe’s largest IRCT member, was fined by the country’s Social Security Institution (SSI) due to an alleged administrative irregularity. Despite demonstrating no irregularities through official records and other strong evidence, the centre was fined…

News
IRCT urges African Commission to consider experts’ statement in support of Egyptian victims of virginity testing
27 March 2015
The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) urges the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to consider experts’ statement in support of Egyptian victims of virginity testing.
The submission of the Independent Forensic Expert Group (IFEG) statement on Virginity Testing supports Samira Ibrahim Mahmoud and Rasha Ali Abdel-Rahman who were subjected to a forced genital examination while being detained at a military prison in 2011. Another 15 female detainees were forced to undergo the same examinations, aimed at protecting soldiers from allegations of rape.
The expert statement on Virginity Testing discusses the physical and psychological effects and medical perspectives on forcibly conducting virginity testing upon women. The experts conclude that virginity tests are “medically unreliable and inherently discriminatory, and, in almost all instances, when conducted forcibly, result in significant physical and mental pain and suffering.”…