Torture has become way of life

Press, 27 April 1984, Page 13

Torture has become way of life

Two-thirds of the countries in the world use torture of political prisoners either as a means to extract information from them or else as an arbitrary punishment to quell dissent. This is the conclusion of Amnesty International from a four-year study, published this month under the title “Torture in the Eighties.” The methods include beatings, water tortures, pain-causing drugs, and electric shocks applied to sensitive parts of the body. The use of electricity, which may leave no marks, can make verification afterwards especially difficult, the report says. The whole matter tends to be shrouded in governmental secrecy and it is realistic to assume that many cases never come to light. “Torture most often occurs during a prisoner’s first days in custody, when visits by family or lawyers are banned — often under

From

laws giving the authorities wideranging powers to deal with emergencies,” the report says. It cites investigations in 98 countries, plus examples drawn from about a dozen more. Because of incomplete information, Amnesty International refuses to give a black list of those with the worst records. The report does, however, cite grisly examples, such as the Syrian “black slave” which inserts a heated skewer into the prisoner’s anus. It is surprising to find some countries in the report. Amnesty International sent a mission to Canada to investigate allegations that, after a prison riot in Quebec in 1983, prisoners were beaten, sprayed with teargas, and held

JOHN WEIR

in London

naked in their cells. The Canadian Government had promised an investigation which is not yet complete. There were similar cases in the United States. From Israel are reports of prisoners from the West Bank being hooded and forced to stand without moving for many hours at a time, being deprived of sleep, and being exposed to cold showers and cold air ventilators. The worst offending countries are in South America and Africa. Under the former military regime in Argentina torture occurred on a grand scale, including by “picana electrica” (electrical cattle prod), “submarine” (the head, covered with a cloth hood, immersed in water), beatings with

fists, truncheons, and rifle butts and cigarette burns. Drawn on experience in Greece in 1967-74, the reports describes how individuals may be psychologically conditioned into becoming torturers on behalf of their governments. After basic military training, selected army conscripts in Greece were picked for a special course with the military police. Further screening after this course produced the chosen few to be trained as torturers. Initially they were not aware of the duty for which they had been chosen. Their “torture course” included beating and being beaten by their fellow-students. They were ordered to eat the straps of their berets. They were made to kneel before portraits of commanding officers. When ideological and psychological conditioning were complete they were assigned first just to

guard prisoners. Then they were promoted to arresting suspects and finally to torturing them. Any hesitation led to ridicule and to threats that their families would suffer. They were taught to have an elevated view of their role as “protectors of State security” and to regard themselves as an elite. Amnesty International proposes a 12-point plan for the prevention of torture, including that the highest authorities in every country should demonstrate total opposition to it. Prisoners should be brought swiftly before judicial tribunals and secret detention centres should be abolished. Officials charged with interrogation should be separate from those responsible for custody. Evidence produced by torture should never be admissible in judicial proceedings. Copyright — London Observer Service.