'Mass awareness needed to stop torture in society'

Independent human rights commission, mass awareness and integrated efforts by all professional organisations can help prevent torture in the country, said the speakers at a workshop Sunday.
The workshop titled 'Development of human rights-based strategy to prevent torture' was organised by the Centre for Rehabilitation of Torture Survivors (CRTS) in the city.
Speaking as chief guest Sultana Kamal, former adviser to a caretaker government, said, "We have to look into the level of tolerance before setting up strategy to prevent torture."
In his keynote paper, Dr Kamrul Hasan Khan, general secretary of CRTS, said repression on women, children, workers, prisoners and political activists is increasing alarmingly across the country.
CRTS President Prof Dr Abdus Sobhan presided over the workshop while Justice Quazi Ebadul Haque, Mok Chiu Yu Augustine, chief executive of Centre for Community Cultural Development, and Shah Alamgir, head of news of Ekushey Television (ETV), also spoke.