He fled from the scene but was soon arrested and faced severe police torture during a long police remand.

But despite Government assertions to the contrary, police torture is "widespread and common," the report said.

In Somalia, the internal security agency and the military police "often torture detainees."

"The police would torture them until they confessed to belonging to some political group and named others who supposedly were members, too," she said.

Celil and his sister, mother, and older brother have repeatedly complained that Chinese police are torturing him.

He said the South African police did not torture him.

When they called the police, the police arrested him and five others on charges of 'kidnapping' and 'torturing' the three men.

The police often torture innocent people until a 'confession' is obtained to save influential and wealthy offenders.

Criticising the president in person is illegal under the Kazakh criminal code and international monitors say the police routinely torture suspects.

They show police robbing, torturing and extorting money.