Sira is an expert witness for the indigenous and Afro-descendant communities that are suing Nicaragua before the Inter-American Court.
The Rama and Kriol peoples, the Monkey Point Community, and the Indigenous Black Creole Community of Bluefields accuse Nicaragua of violating their rights by granting the concession for the mega-project "Grand Interoceanic Canal," which crosses their lands. Last Thursday, February 2nd, the clinical director of the Sira Center, Pau Pérez Sales, acted as an expert witness […]
Sira's expert testimony was key in the ruling that compensated a couple imprisoned for "jihadism," despite their innocence.
The man spent up to three years in pretrial detention, while his partner spent just under a year. In 2019, the Supreme Court acquitted them after a retrial. For almost four years, the Sira Center for Victims of Abuse and Torture provided therapeutic support to a married couple […]
Sira is an expert witness for one of the four new plaintiffs who are denouncing torture during the dictatorship.
With these, there are now five lawsuits filed by victims of repression during the dictatorship, following the approval of the new Democratic Memory Law. The State Coordinator for Support of the Argentine Lawsuit (CEAQUA) filed four new complaints yesterday, February 21, alleging torture at the hands of police officers during the Franco regime, between 1972 […]
Sira examines the young man who lost an eye at the hands of the Civil Guard at the Melilla border fence
Assisted by Irídia, he has filed a complaint for torture and assault, with the aggravating factors of racism and public presence. The young man was attacked with a baton during the “crossing” on March 2, 2022, while fleeing border agents. Djack left Mali, his country of origin, fleeing from […]
Amicus Curiae: Emil Bustamante's family is a victim of torture
The Sira Center presents an amicus curiae brief detailing the impacts of this forced disappearance on the family, impacts still felt more than 40 years later. On February 13, 1982, Emil Bustamante Cruz, 32, a veterinarian and rural sociologist, left his home in Guatemala City early to attend to […]
Since the power outage, the need for mental health care among the population of Cañada Real has increased fivefold.
Following an expert report from the Sir[a] Center, the Community Action Group (GAC) published the report “La Cañada Responds,” which measures the psychological, physical, and community impacts of the power outage in the neighborhood. Residents report experiencing intense negative emotions regularly, such as […]
Spain continues to fail to comply with the principles of the Convention Against Torture
On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, a group of civil society organisations present a report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture, which compiles various violations committed by the State as a signatory of the Convention On 20 and 21 July, at the headquarters of the UN Committee Against Torture, a group of civil society organisations [...]
The expert report on Silvia, a migrant woman assaulted by Ertzaintza police officers, is accepted.
Bypassing the principles of the United Nations “Convention against Torture”, Silvia had been prevented from providing her defence with the Istanbul Protocol drawn up by the Sir[a] Centre, which accredits the abuses The Provincial Court finally admitted yesterday during the trial, the expert report drawn up by the Sir[a] Centre on Silvia. A resident of Getxo, [...]
Sira provides expertise to a victim of obstetric violence in Spain, who brought her case to the UN
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women agreed with her and urged Spain to adopt measures to eradicate obstetric violence. We found post-traumatic symptoms, caused both by the experience of profound helplessness during childbirth and by the lack of recognition from institutions […]
Sira appears in Parliament to talk about the impact of police infiltrations
After having accompanied and assessed virtually all of the affected individuals, Pau Pérez Sales, on behalf of the organization, explained the nature of the harm. 70% of the women assessed had suicidal thoughts after discovering the infiltrations. Pau Pérez Sales appeared last Thursday, February 15th, before the “Comissió d'Investigació sobre la Infiltració de Policies dels Cossos Policials de l'Estat en els Moviments Socials, Polítics i Populars d'Arreu del […]