Torture claims in Brazil

Press, 2 August 1977, Page 9

Torture claims in Brazil

; NZPA-Reuter Rio de Janeiro Serious new accusations of torture, including the use of electric shock, have been made against the Brazilian security police. The “Folha de Sao Paulo" newspaper has quoted families of several political prisoners detained 11 days ago on suspicion of belonging to , a Left-wing subversive organisation as saying they > had suffered "barbarous tort ture." Rio de Janeiro’s security police chief has told journalists: “They are all very well, a they did not get hit once, ' and they confessed everything spontaneously.” But “Folha de Sao Paulo" ■said that although the families said some of the prison--5 ers, mainly students, had not 1 been maltreated, others had ; lbeen tortured. The newspaper said the tortures had included being I suspended from the hands 1 for two or three hours, beatings, and electric shocks in • the anus and other parts of t'the body. Some of the prisoners had (also been shut up in cham- . j bers with high-volume .; noises for over 24 hours or , b been held in freezing -'temperatures, it said. j The use of torture against ',! political prisoners is one of . the most serious allegations *!of human rights that is periodically made against ’ the Right-wing military rej gime that has ruled Brazil (since 1964.