Beatings with iron bars and acid burns are used by security forces in Burundi to extract ‘confessions’ and silence dissent, according to an Amnesty International briefing published on Monday. It highlights an increase in the use of torture since April. The testimonies are devastating and disturbing (torture and ill-treatment are prohibited by the country’s constitution and international and regional treaties to which Burundi is party). Amnesty International said, ‘Such practices must stop and those suspected of perpetrating torture should be suspended immediately pending thorough, independent and impartial investigations and prosecutions.’ People are being tortured for their suspected participation in protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza’s election to a third term in office. A human rights activist and a journalist were also detained and tortured. One detainee said, ‘They told me, “If you don’t confess, we’ll kill you.” But I said, “How can I confess when I know nothing? You’ll have to just tell me what to confess to.”’