Old Habits Are Hard to Break: Modern Day Torture

(Please note: The topic of this blog post is torture, and may not be suitable for all readers. There will be no detailed description of the methods of torture, but please read at your own discretion)

Article 5 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Unfortunately, throughout history, this human right has been violated time and time again in all sorts of situations. From medieval amusement to government interrogations to courtroom "safety", people have been finding new ways to hurt and degrade others, and I expect that, without proper knowledge and intervention by citizens, they always will.

The definition of torture, as stated in the UN Convention Against Torture, is “Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind”. 

Slightly wordy, but it basically means that when a person is put through physical or mental pain and suffering for the sake of information, punishment, or intimidation, it is considered torture. Sometimes, torture has been regarded in three classes or degrees of suffering. First-degree torture typically takes the forms of whipping or beating but does not mutilate the body. Second-degree torture consists almost entirely of crushing devices and procedures. Finally, third-degree tortures severely mutilate the body. Torture can cause permanent or long-term physical harm, and although many techniques may not leave physical scars, all methods can have devastating consequences.

Throughout history, torture has been most commonly used in regards to gaining information, serving punishment, and intimidation. There are some cases of torture being used as a method of amusement, but that was more uncommon. Also, if a criminal was sentenced to death, it would often have been death by torture. During the time of the witch trials, women were quite often sentenced to die by burning on the stake, which is a “third-degree” method of torture, as it would result in death. The concentration camps of WWII would also be considered mass torture based on discrimination

After the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created in 1948, there seemed to be quite a bit of improvement in terms of torture and human rights in general. But, unfortunately, torture was still happening in many countries all over the world. From this came the United Nations Convention against Torture, which has 81 signatories and 155 parties to it. There is even an inspection team with formed by the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. These things seemed to be the solution people were waiting for. Countries and people were agreeing that torture, under any circumstance, is wrong.

Unfortunately, due to the secretive nature of torture, there are still plenty of reported (and unreported) cases of cruelty and torture, even by countries who have signed and ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture. Amnesty International, a group devoted to furthering human rights, claim that "over the last five years, Amnesty has reported on torture in at least three quarters of the world - 141 countries, from every region" (Amnesty International).

A Political Cartoon Depicting Torture of Prisoners in The United States

There are many cases around the world of "enforced disappearances", where a victim is taken into custody without any opportunity to contact family or lawyers, and often times the victim does not even know the specific charges brought against them. When one of these enforced disappearances happens, the chance of them being tortured skyrockets, and even the very act of forcing someone to suddenly disappear and allowing them no contact with the outside world can be considered torture in itself. Along with enforced disappearances and secret detention facilities, there are many other forms of torture carried out in the world today. Mock executions, when the torturer acts out a situation in which the victim believes they are going to die/a loved one had been killed, has been rumoured all over various war zones, even being performed by United States soldiers as well as "enemies".

But, surprisingly, this kind of torture is not the kind that worries me the most. People would generally agree that those kinds of torture are wrong, and are rallying to be rid of them. The kinds of torture we hear most about in the media just need to be sought out and addressed, which is difficult in itself, but not quite as difficult as what I will next address.

A Stun Belt

This is a stun belt. If you do not know what it is used for, the name pretty much gives it away. It is worn around the waist, leg, or arm like a, well, belt. It can administer up to 50 000 volts directly to the person wearing it, often around the kidneys. Now, this may sound scary, and that is because it is. Especially if the person has a preexisting heart condition. "“Every discharge of a stun device is a roll of the dice for the life of the victim,” says Robert Greifinger, former chief medical officer for the New York prison system" (Yeoman).

 So, a potentially life-threatening device is being strapped to people. What people? Why? Well, they're being strapped to prisoners in situations such as: representing themselves in court, crews working outside the prison, being driven to hospitals, and outside of public view, where things can often go awry. "Some officials even use the belt to control people with mental illness" (Yeoman). 

Now, while some may say that this is simply an alternative when shackles cannot be reasonably used, I would have to disagree. Such a tool, capable of generating such a shock, is not going into the hands of it's ideals, but of humans. And there is no way to screen prison guards for their intentions with this new tool at their disposal. In prisons, away from public eyes, there is too much potential for the misuse of this technology. Also, putting this on somebody representing themselves in court is disregarding the court system's duty to assume that someone is "innocent until proven guilty". This is completely treating a defendant as if they are already guilty. Most countries have realized this, and stun belts are only popularly used in the United States and South Africa. But as technology progresses, these kinds of tools may become much more commonplace. And that is what makes me nervous. Whenever the words "safety" or "greater good" are tossed around, individual rights seem to fade into the background, even when torture is involved. There are few people standing up against this kind of thing, but it is also important as we discuss human rights.

There are a few groups attempting to stop torture around the globe, and one of the leaders of this movement is Amnesty International, who I briefly mentioned before. They have a campaign dedicated to this issue named "Stop Torture".

Amnesty International's "Stop Torture" Campaign Video

Amnesty International brings out quite a few possible solution for preventing torture, especially in prisons, in their May 2014 research report. Such solutions include:

• "People who have been arrested have the right to notify family and others
• Official records of arrests must be kept
• Secret and incommunicado detention must be prohibited by ensuring access to, for example, relatives, medical care, legal counsel, and courts
• The right to access to a lawyer from the outset of detention is respected
• Use of statements obtained through torture or ill-treatment in court is prohibited, except as evidence of these acts
• All interrogation techniques and coercive measures that amount to torture and other ill-treatment are prohibited. 
• Video, or at least audio, monitoring and recording of all questioning sessions is provided. 
• A Lawyer is present during questioning
• Medical examinations and services throughout the period of questioning are available
• Authorities responsible for detention are separate from those in charge of questioning
• International law and standards contain provisions addressing the specific needs and rights of particular groups of people deprived of liberty including women, children and people with disabilities
• Release from custody is a moment which carries further risks. Release should always allow individuals to claim their rights in case they have suffered torture and other ill-treatment in custody
• Not being transferred, directly or indirectly, to countries or places where the individual might be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment
• Monitoring of detention facilities could be carried out by organizations and bodies
• Ban inherently inhumane equipment offered for law enforcement. These are items with no practical use other than for capital punishment, torture and other ill-treatment, like restraint chairs, weighted leg cuffs, thumb cuffs, batons and truncheons with spikes
• Suspend use and investigate effects of law enforcement equipment that lends itself to torture due to its design
• Strictly control permissible law enforcement equipment that is misused for torture such as ordinary police and prison handcuffs and handheld batons" (Amnesty International)

I really appreciate and respect Amnesty International, and appreciate the many possible solutions they put forth.

Overall, I feel that torture has quite the unsavoury past, ranging from medieval torture to as recent as WWII, and is likely to have an unsavoury future as well, such as the mistreatment of prisoners and the interrogation of people who are arrested, if citizens and organizations do not step up and demand basic human rights for all.
I pose the question to you readers: What is the future of torture? Can it be stopped? How so?

Grace Karklins

Works Cited

“Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.” United Nations Treaty Collection. United Nations, n.d. Web. 16 June 2014. <https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-9&chapter=4&lang=en>.

Ehrlich, Richard S. “Psychiatric Center Treats Victims of Afghanistan Torture.” Washington Times. N.p., 11 Apr. 1988. Web. 16 June 2014. <http://web.archive.org/web/20091027182744/http://www.geocities.com/asia_correspondent/afghan8804psychiatristwt.html>.

“Human Rights Watch Statement on U.S. Secret Detention Facilities in Europe.” Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, n.d. Web. 16 June 2014. <http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2005/11/06/human-rights-watch-statement-us-secret-detention-facilities-europe>.

J. Franklin, The Science of Conjecture: Evidence and Probability Before Pascal. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001, 26-30.

Priest, Dana. “CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons.” Washington Post. N.p., 2 Nov. 2005. Web. 16 June 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101644_pf.html>.

“Stun Belt.” Africom. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 June 2014. <http://www.theafricom.com/despite-stun-belts-controversy-us-supreme-court-in-california-sanctions-use/>.

Torture in 2014: 30 Years of Broken Promises. Research rept. no. ACT 40/004/2014. London: Amnesty International, 2014. Print.

UN General Assembly, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948, 217 A (III), available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3712c.html [accessed 16 June 2014]

Yeoman, Barry. “Shocking Discipline.” Barry Yeoman. N.p., 1 Mar. 2000. Web. 16 June 2014. <http://barryyeoman.com/2000/03/shocking-discipline/>.