Torture: a Worldwide Epidemic

By Laura L

HUMAN RIGHTS

Amnesty International details abuses in 98 countries

The victim could be a child of twelve or a man of 60. He could be a factory worker or a missionary. He might have been pulled arbitrarily from a crowd in a demonstration, or dragged away in the middle of the night before the bewildered eyes of his family. Perhaps he stole a loaf of bread, aided a guerrilla or disagreed with the President. Or maybe he did nothing at all.

What these people have in common is that they are the victims of a barbaric practice condoned and often encouraged by governments throughout the world: torture. According to a 263-page study released last week by Amnesty International, a London-based human rights group that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977, torture is now practiced by governments in 98 countries. The product of meticulous documentation, Torture in the Eighties is the most comprehensive report on the subject to date. Its conclusion, in the words of Amnesty's Mark Grantham: "Torture is not an isolated, but a widespread phenomenon. It is an epidemic in the world."

According to the report, the practice is used extensively in South America, Africa and Asia. Amnesty also found evidence that torture had been applied in developed countries. The report cites allegations that police have beaten prisoners in Italy; it also mentions instances of police brutality in the U.S.

In Latin America torture is as commonplace as it is gruesome. Among the worst offenders are Colombia and Peru, where torture has been justified as a way to combat insurgencies. Prisoners in both countries are often deprived of food, subjected to electric shock, or suspended by their arms while handcuffed behind their backs. In Paraguay torture has become an administrative tool to enforce the firm grip of President Alfredo Stroessner, who seized control of the country 30 years ago. Paraguayans who are suspected of belonging to left-wing groups are often held incommunicado in cramped cells without natural light, fresh air, medical attention or much food for days or even weeks.

Police forces in Chile, according to Amnesty, inflict not only routine beatings but also a gamut of abuses referred to in sardonic slang. El telefono (the telephone) consists of blows with the palms of the hands on both ears simultaneously; la parrilla (the metal grill) is an electrical shock administered to the genitals; el submarino or la banera (the submarine or the bath) is a treatment in which the victim's head is held under water almost to the point of suffocation. Says Grantham: "Torture does not occur simply because individual torturers are sadistic. They tend to be servants of a state carrying out a state policy."

In El Salvador, the report notes, journalists, church workers, women, children and teachers have been victims of abuse by various governmental defense organizations and paramilitary units. The methods include sexual abuse, the use of chemicals to disorient people, mock executions and burning of flesh with sulfuric acid.

The details change, but the grotesque practices repeat themselves around the world. Syrian prisoners are subject to whippings and cigarette burns, as well as fingernail plucking and long periods in which they are hung upside down. In one particularly horrifying case, police in India deliberately blinded 36 suspected criminals during one year by piercing their eyes with bicycle spokes and wrapping them with acid-soaked pads. In countries as diverse as Mauritania and Uruguay, governments seek the cooperation of medical professionals, who either ignore signs of abuse or actively participate in torture. Prisoners of conscience in the Soviet Union, for example, often are forcibly treated by doctors who give them disorienting or pain-causing drugs.

Although most countries' laws against torture are simply not enforced, the practice is in some places not only tolerated but legal. Under Pakistan's Islamic and martial laws, flogging is a common punishment for ordinary criminal acts and political offenses, while amputation is an acceptable penalty for thieves. In Iran, stoning to death is officially sanctioned for certain serious offenses.

The Amnesty report has received overwhelming praise from other human rights groups. Says Nina Shea, program director for the International League for Human Rights in New York: "I find it to be eminently reliable, if not on the conservative side." Aryeh Neier, vice chairman of New York-based Americas Watch, agrees. "It's absolutely solid," he says. More surprising, the Reagan Administration, which often finds itself at odds with human rights groups, responded favorably. Although officials were disappointed that the report paid little attention to Cuba and Nicaragua, a State Department spokesman declared: "It documents this problem in impressive and sickening detail."

Amnesty has worked to raise consciousness about torture at the United Nations, where a voluntary fund for victims has been established. Twelve governments, including the U.S., Sweden and Greece, have pledged more than $700,000. In its report, Amnesty proposes a twelve-point plan to protect prisoners' rights, officially condemn torture, safeguard prisoners during interrogation, limit incommunicado detention and allow independent investigations into torture. "Torture can be stopped," the report declared. "What is lacking is the political will of governments to stop torturing people." The report may not persuade many governments to stop torturing their citizens, but by increasing the volume of information on the subject it should add to international pressure against SUCh practices. --By Laura Lopez