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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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Articles related to violence |
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Abuse Bodily harm Ethnic cleansing Genocide Terrorism Torture Violent crime War |
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Torture remains a popular method of repression in totalitarian regimes, terrorist and organized crime. Even in Western democratic societies, the police resorts sometimes to torture and is frequently backed-up by sympathising politicians.
In 2002, in Cologne, Germany, a history of physical torture at Eigelstein police station only came to light because the victim died, and a post-mortem examination unearthed the facts. Further investigation revealed that the police officers obviously had resorted to physical mis-treatment of suspects for quite some time, and none of them reported the mistreatment).
During the Algerian war of 1955-1962, the French military used torture against National Liberation Front. Paul Aussaresses, a French general during the Algerian war, defended the use of torture in a 2000 interview in the Paris newspaper Le Monde. In an interview on the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes, in response to the question of whether he would torture Al-Qaeda suspects, his answer was, "It seems to me it's obvious."
CIA agents have anonymously confirmed to the Washington Post in a December 26, 2002 report that the CIA routinely uses so-called "stress and duress" interrogation techniques, which are claimed by human rights activists to be acts of torture, in the US-led war on terrorism. These sources state that CIA and military personnel beat up uncooperative suspects, confine them in cramped quarters, duct tape them to stretchers, and use other restraints which maintain the subject in an awkward and painful position for long periods of time. The phrase 'torture light' has been reported in the media and has been taken to mean acts that would not be legally defined as torture but where the intent of the person committing the act is the same.
The Post article continues that sensory deprivation, through the use of hoods and spraypainted goggles, sleep deprivation, and selective use of painkillers for at least one captive who was shot in the groin during his apprehension are also used. The agents also indicate in the report that the CIA as a matter of course hands suspects over to foreign intelligence services with far fewer qualms about torture for more intensive interrogation. The mere act of handing somebody to another organisation or country where it is foreseeable that torture would occur is regarded as a violation of the Torture Convention. The Post reported that one US official said, "If you don't violate someone's human rights some of the time, you probably aren't doing your job." The US Government denies that torture is being conducted in the detention camps.
The United Kingdom's forces have been criticised for using torture against IRA suspects during the 1970's. Although primarily psychological some methods employed did utilise physical discomfort, e.g. seating the prisoner on a block of ice.
Israel has used torture since at least the 1970s, but it was only in 1987 the Israeli Supreme Court formed a special commission headed by retired Justice Moshe Landau, to review the whole question of torture. In their report they sanctioned the use of "moderate physical pressure". The human rights group B'Tselem estimate that 85% of all Palestinian detainees are tortured. The methods used includes prolonged sleep deprivation; prolonged sight deprivation using blindfolds or tight-fitting hoods; forced, prolonged maintenance of body positions that grow increasingly painful; and verbal threats and insults. Almost always they are also combined with confinement in tiny, closet-like spaces; exposure to temperature extremes, such as in deliberately overcooled rooms; prolonged toilet and hygiene deprivation; and degrading treatment, such as forcing detainees to eat and use the toilet at the same time. Beatings are also common. [1] [2]
Saudi Arabia officially considers torture as illegal under Islamic Law; however, it is widely practised (see http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=saudi+torture&btnG=Google+Search).
The use of torture has been criticised not only on humanitarian grounds, but on the grounds that evidence extracted by torture tends to be extremely unreliable and that the use of torture corrupts institutions which tolerate it. Torture victims have often reported that the purpose is as much to force acquiescence on an enemy as it is to gain information.
To prevent torture, many legal systems have a right against self-incrimination. The United States includes this right in the fifth amendment to its constitution, which in turn serves as the basis of the Miranda warning that is issued to individuals upon their arrest. Additionally, the US Constitution's eighth amendment expressly forbids the use of "cruel and unusual punishments", which is widely interpreted as a prohibition of the use of torture.
Human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, are actively involved in working to stop the use of torture throughout the world.
Torture is often difficult to prove, particularly when some time has passed between the event and a medical examination. Many torturers around the world use methods designed to have a maximum impact while leaving only minimal traces. Medical and Human Rights Organisations worldwide have collaborated to produce the Istanbul Protocol, a document designed to outline common torture methods, consequences of torture and medico-legal examination techniques.
Torture often leads to lasting mental and physical health problems.
Physical problems can be wide-ranging, e.g. sexually transmitted diseases, musculo-skeletal problems, brain injury, post-traumatic epilepsy and dementia or chronic pain syndromes.
Mental health problems are equally wide-ranging; common are post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety disorder.
Treatment of torture-related medical problems might require a wide range of expertise and often specialised experience. Common treatments are psychotropic medication, e.g. SSRI antidepressants, counselling, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, family therapy and physiotherapy.
Irritating chemicals or products may be inserted into the rectum or vagina, or applied on the external genitalia. Cases of women being punished for adultery by having hot peppers inserted into their vagina were reported in India. Similar means were used in many instances in African strife.
During the Algerian War of Independence, sections of the French Army were notorious for the use of the gégène (electrical generator) on suspects. There are many reported instances of electrical torture by the China government in Tibet, especially against Buddhist nuns, with, in particular, the insertion of electrodes into the rectum or vagina.
Some methods imployed by law enforcement and states are seen by some as being tantamount to torture.
Any method of execution which involves, or has the potential to involve, a great deal of pain or mutilation is considered to be torture and unacceptable to many who support capital punishment.
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