Discussion

Work in pairs. What do you think the answers are to these questions?
In 1996 there were 171 countries in the world:
1.In h o w many countries did people in prison o r police custody suffer torture o r ill-treatment?
a. 24 6. 67 c. 124?
2. In h o w many countries did people die a s a result of torture o r inhuman prison conditions?
a. 16 b. 46 c. 82?
Find out the answers from your teacher and then discuss these questions:
1. D o the figures surprise o r shock you o r are they w h a t you would expect?
2. Do you think the figures would be better o r worse for this year? O r a b o u t the same?
3. In which countries would you expect t o find torture happening?
4. W h a t about your o w n country?

Reading
Read the articles through quickly and answer the questions below:
Which countries are mentioned in connection with torture?
Do a n y of the articles surprise you? Which? W h y ?

CASSIDY ATTACKS PINOCHET US POLICE UNDER FIRE FRANCE GUILTY OF

In Chile in 1975, Dr Sheila Cassidy
was beaten, stripped and given
electric shocks all over her body,
forcing her to give the name of a
priest who had asked her for help.
She was later released as a result of
protests from Britain. Yesterday she
spoke out following the arrest of
General Pinochet, the 84-year-old
ex-dictator of Chile. "I think
imprisonment for the rest of his life
would be appropriate. I know he is
an old man and he is fragile, but so
were the pregnant women who were
raped and tortured," she said.
A recent Human Rights Watch
report, examining policing in 14 of
America's biggest cities, contains
some shocking statistics. Following
11,000 civil rights complaints
against the police last year, only 29
police officers were punished. Crime
in New York has halved since 1993,
but complaints about police abuse
are up by 50%.
In one case, a suspect was choked to
death when arrested by a police
officer in 1994. The officer was
cleared of manslaughter, but the case
exposed the police to widespread
criticism.
TORTURE
France became the first European
country convicted of torture when
the European Court of Human
Rights found it guilty of torturing a
suspected drug dealer during
questioning. The man was beaten in
an effort to obtain more information
about his suppliers. The court
described his treatment at the hands
of five police officers as being 'of
a particularly cruel and serious
nature7making it 'torture' under the
European Convention on Human
Rights.

Read the articles again and answer these questions:

1. W h y w a s Sheila Cassidy tortured?
2. W h a t was 'shocking' a b o u t the H u m a n Rights Watch report?
3. W h a t information did the French police w a n t ?

Discussion
Discuss these questions in small groups:
!
1. D o you think t h a t the conduct of the US police might sometimes actually be 'torture'?
2. H o w would you define 'torture'?
3. Do you feel t h a t any of the cases of torture mentioned above might in any w a y be justified?
4. Do you think the police in your country torture suspects a n d k n o w n criminals?
I

9 Torture Taboos and Issues

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Language 1
Put the words in italics in the right order to make
prepositional phrases.
1. She was later released ...................
protests from Britain. (of as result a)
2. I think imprisonment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
his life would be appropriate. (of rest the for)
3. A suspect was choked to death ...........
. . . . . . . . . . . a police officer.
(with interview in an)
4. The man was beaten. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
obtain more information about his suppliers.
(to an effort in)
5. His treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . five
police officers was 'of a particularly cruel and
serious nature'. (of the hands at)
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . firm evidence,
he was released from prison. (of the in absence)
7. The government had no choice but to arrest
him . . . . . . . . . . what he was writing
them in the foreign press, but they lived to
regret their actions. (of in view)
8. All political prisoners will have been released
. . . . . . . . . . . . . the year. (end the by of)
Language 2
Complete the article below using the phrases
from the previous exercise.
LIFE FOR THE TORTURE TWO
The trial of Justin Mathers and Gary Barstow,
both accused of murder and torture, finished
today at Brigham Crown Court. (1). . . . . . . .
the six-week trial, the jury had heard evidence of
some of the most horrible crimes ever described
in a courtroom. They had also seen photographs
of injuries suffered ( 2 ) . . . . . . . . these two men.
Both men were found guilty. The judge passed
sentence immediately, saying: " (3) . . . . . . . the
horror of your crimes, I have no hesitation in
sending you to prison (4) . . . . . . . . your lives.
(5) . . . . . . . . . your actions, five people were
permanently injured and seven were killed. Two
men and three women lost their partners; a dozen
children lost their parents.
After your arrest, (6) . . . . . . . . the police, you
said that you had enjoyed committing these awful
crimes. Therefore, ( 7 ) . . . . . . . . give you a .
punishment that matches the awfulness of what
you have done, and, (8) . . . . . . . . any remorse
from you, I sentence you to life imprisonment."

"No-one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,

inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
Article 5. United Nations. 1984.

Discussion
Work in small groups. Look at the situations below. Discuss how much force, if any, it is acceptable for
the police or army to use in each situation in order to get what they want.

1. The police arrest someone for a bank robbery.
They are absolutely certain they have the
person responsible, and he already has a
criminal record, but at the moment they have
no evidence. They need a confession. They
only have four hours to get one before he must
be released.
2. A child has been kidnapped. The kidnappers
are threatening to kill the child if their
demands are not met. The police catch one of
the kidnappers who knows where the child is
being held. She refuses to tell the police.
3. The police catch a member of a terrorist
organisation. He knows the names of other
members of the organisation. He also has
information about where they have stores of
arms and explosives. This information will save
lives.
4. Your country is at war. You capture a high-
ranking enemy soldier who has considerable
knowledge of the enemy plans. This
information would certainly save the lives of
many of your soldiers and possibly shorten the
war.

Would your response to situation 2 be the same if the child was yours or a friend's?

Taboos and Issues Torture 9

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