his describes a torture method used against homosexuals within a stone’s throw of Berlin, Germany. Even if Europe is not yet torture-free, those of us who live in western Europe can be happy that the text above describes something that took place nearly 60 years ago. [1]

But torture is still practised in 132 countries around the world – in such various countries as Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, India, and Turkey torture of arrested persons takes. And as we know from the recent amnesty international urgent action for the transvestite Vanessa Ladesma [2], 15 years after the end of the Argentinean military dictatorship, torture is being still used there, too.

The prejudices against sexual minorities and especially the criminalisation of homosexual relations strengthens its social stigmatisation and makes the group susceptible to violent attacks and human rights violations.

In a recent document amnesty writes:

iscrimination whether it be on grounds of gender, ethnic origin, belief or sexual orientation etc lays the grounds for torture, and attacks the very roots of human rights. Whether it be the Catholic Church led by the Bishop of Rome or other fundamentalist bigots, religion has historically played and still plays, a basic role in preparing the ground for human rights violations. This applies especially to the “social atmosphere” engendered by the ranting of some priests and evangelist Christians.

 The U.N. Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Mr. Abdelfattah Amor, in a recent report drew attention to, "[a]n increase in the number of policies and practices of intolerance and discrimination against women as such, deriving from interpretations and traditions attributed by men to religion. No religion or belief is safe from this trend, which is apparent in various forms throughout the world." He also stated that the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations included: ”Extremism, whether or not it has a genuinely religious basis, is not limited to any one faith and must be given no quarter [4]. “

Much of what the Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance writes about women applies to homosexuals - especially in “fundamentalist countries” but also where major religious groupings are fundamentalist-dominated. Precisely because religion is male-dominated and old-fashioned ideas of manhood abound, the social status of women in a given society, illustrated by the so-called “passive role” in sex, has a close relationship to the status of homosexuals and transexuals etc. One needs only to think of southern Europe where the “passive” partner is widely regarded with scorn. It is therefore not just chance that the three main groups covered in amnesty’s new anti-torture campagne are women, children and people with a different sexual orienttion to the majority.

Romania's Orthodox Church condemns homosexuality as a sin, and petitioned the parliament against moves to decriminalise gay sex. "Our Church does not say a sexual minority should be sent to jail," Archbishop Nifon "But we must speak out loudly against sin." and then urges that the law which sends people to prison on the basis of their sexual orientation should be retained. "Everybody should know that  homo­sexuality is a sin against religious, and against family and social values, which are at the core of our Church," - Archbishop Casian So much for Christian charity.

Against Torture

In October 2000 amnesty international launched a world-wide campaign lasting fifteen months to attempt to make a dent in these widely used inhuman practices of torture.

Through publicity education and special actions amnesty wants to put pressure on governments to end torture with specially emphasis on children, women, and members of the LGBT minorities, and seeks to place the issue firmly on the human rights agenda.

The aims of the Anti-Torture Campaign include

(1) To prevent torture; to stop torture; to punish the torturers.

(2) To anchor defence against torture in international agreements and national laws.

(3) Individual aims related to the country in which the campaigning takes place. For instance: The Federal German Government is being asked to ratify Art. 22 of the Anti-Torture Convention. This would allow individuals to ask the UN for help. Although Article 22 is weaker than the existing European laws against torture, it would be a signal to other countries outside Europe, and would not replace the European laws.

To prevent torture

The training of the police and security forces all over the world in human rights and methods of interrogation which are within the law should be greatly extended. The importance of this aim is made clear by the following text  from a recent amnesty urgent action on Saudia Arabia.

Torture and ill-treatment are on the daily agenda; executions and whippings, as well as amputation are carried out in complete  disregard of the basic rules for a fair trial. ... Among the torture methods used are, „falaqa“ (blows to the soul of the feet), the use of electric shocks, stubbing of cigarettes on the body, and the tearing out of finger nails. In many cases people who are accused of a crime experience torture from the moment of arrest [5]. 

Flogging is used for alcohol offences, prostitution and suspicion of  "homosexual activity". Nine gay Saudi Arabian transvestites in the western city of Qunfuda were jailed and due to be lashed twice monthly for two years. Five of the men were sentenced to six years in prison and 2,600 lashes at the rate of 52 lashes per session. The police determined the men were dressing in women's clothing and having sex together, a violation of Islamic law.

Punish the Torturers !

Those who torture others are generally quite normal people. The commonly held idea that they are „inhuman, perverse Sadists“ is seldom the case. Although the chain of command frequently extends up to governmental offices, the perpetrator is often from the poorer classes, has been a victim of violence and humiliation,and believes he is acting from higher motives and defending eternal values such as nation people or religion.

“Impunity of the torturers is one of the important causes of torture and ill-treatment.” writes the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. If torturers go unpunished, then the whole legal system is brought into disrepute. This is one reason why it is so important to find them, bring them in front of a court and pass a just judgement. The arrest of General Pinochet in London is seen as an important step forward and a clear warning to all potential torturers, that they are nowhere safe, and it is hoped that it will be but the first step towards bringing more torturers before a court.

USA – Stunbelt

"Electricity is one of the favourite methods of the torturer in the last half of the 20^th century,"  said the director of amnesty international USA Dr. William F. Schulz in launching the amnesty international report on the use of stun-belts within the US system of Justice. amnesty demands the suspension of the use of all electro-shock instruments  until a thorough scientific examination of their use has been carried out, since the use has been linked to health dangers, and even suspected of causing deaths.

The German amnesty expert on weapons export, Matthias John writes: „Electro-shock weapons are increasingly used. They are euphemistically called “modern security technology“, “close-range defence methods’ or “non-deadly weapons”. ...The spread of technology which is used for torture and ill treatment are especially assisted by trade shows for  small arms and the security industry [6].”

“Physical pain, psychological pressure, isolation and humiliation in many forms are the means  ... of breaking the victim and robbing them of  their identity.” That of course applies not only to sexual identity but includes it. Even in the last decade cases of “brainwashing” were reported from USA,  and electroshock “therapy” used to attempt to change peoples sexual orientation.  The Sunday Morning Post (Hong Kong - 8. Jan 1995) reported,  “The clients – who attend the sessions on a voluntary basis – are asked to sit on a chair with positive and negative electrodes attached to the back of each hand.  Slides of sexually arousing images beginning with “pin-up pictures of muscular male models … are shown”. The voluntary aspect has to be considered against the stark social discrimination and pressure from families in many countries.

Torture has not only disastrous physical and psychological effects on the victims themselves. The effects of torture affects all relatives and friends, and can extend to the children of victims. They may suffer almost the same experiences as their parents, depression, lasting anxieties, attacks of almost uncontrollable aggression, disruption of social contacts.”  The affects on a country and its society as a whole are also not negligible. People who are „broken“ as a result of torture suffered, are a permanent warning, a living monument, to what can happen to those who “resist.“ a political trend.  

This third amnesty anti-torture campaign needs and deserves support because torture not only strikes at the roots of justice and tolerance, but is an expression of the inability to cope with differences of colour, beliefs, and sexual orientation etc.

C. de la Motte-Sherman

An amnesty publication to inform about the problem:

Useful contacts:

Endnotes