Torture Industry Now Global, Says Report

by Samanta Sen

Amnesty says that during 1998-2000, "businesses in 25 countries were involved in the manufacture, distribution, supply or brokering of devices that are always or sometimes used to inflict torture."

The United States topped the list with at least 74 companies involved in marketing electro-shock weapons, leg irons, shackles, thumbcuffs and other restraints. Of these, 42 companies produced or offered to supply electro-shock stun weapons.

A further 30 German companies made or marketed the weapons, as did 19 Taiwanese companies, 14 French, 13 South Korean, 12 Chinese, nine South African, eight Israeli, six Mexican, five Polish, four Russian, three Brazilian, three Spanish and two from the Czech Republic.

Companies have appointed agents to sell these devices in Austria, Canada, Indonesia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Philippines, Romania, Turkey and several other countries.

"In the 1970s, there were only two companies known to market high voltage electro-shock stun weapons, and now there are over 150 worldwide," said Brian Wood, one of the Amnesty International researchers who worked on the report.

"In the absence of stringent controls to prevent this equipment ending up in the hands of torturers, responsible governments must ban its export immediately," he added.

Today's release of the report, titled "Stopping The Torture Trade," is the latest step in Amnesty International's Stop Torture Campaign launched in October 2000.

The report reveals that manufacturers are increasingly selling devices that leave no permanent marks on the body though they can be crippling to physical and mental health.

One of the most widely sold devices is the stun belt developed in the United States. The stun belt is "one of the most disturbing developments to emerge recently in the field of electro-shock technology," Amnesty says.

Describing its effect, Amnesty says: "This high-pulse current enters the wearer's body at the site of the electrodes, near the kidneys, and passes through the body. The shock causes incapacitation in the first few seconds and severe pain rising during the eight seconds. The electro-shock cannot be stopped once activated. The belt relies on the prisoner's constant fear of severe pain being inflicted at any time while held in a situation of powerlessness."

Amnesty quotes Dennis Kaufman, President of Stun Tech Inc, a U.S. manufacturer of stun belts, as saying: "Electricity speaks every language known to man. No translation necessary. Everybody is afraid of electricity, and rightfully so."

The immediate effects can include severe pain, loss of muscle control, nausea, convulsions, fainting, and involuntary defecation and urination, the Amnesty report says. The physical traces of electro-shock torture, such as skin reddening and scarring, usually fade within weeks. "However, more lasting effects which have been reported include muscle stiffness, long-term damage to teeth and hair, post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression."

The technology is being used widely now in countries in Asia, Europe and South Africa, Amnesty says.

The belts are also known to have been set off accidentally, Amnesty says in its report.

Another popular export by the torture traders is a device called a "taser," which can shoot darts on wires into victims up to 30 feet away.

While the United States is the largest known manufacturer of torture devices, "now Taiwanese, South Korean and Chinese companies probably manufacture more electro-shock stun weapons than companies in the USA," the Amnesty report says.

Stun belts have become a popular export item too. Their use is not allowed in Germany, but German companies are allowed to manufacture and export them. South African companies are selling the belts to several countries, and also to the police in South Africa.

Companies are not just selling goods but also "services," by way of training police in other countries in torture methods, the Amnesty report says. It cites the U.S. School of the Americas, which trained hundreds of soldiers from Latin America, many of whom have been implicated in human rights violations in their home countries.

"Unless security training is strictly controlled and independently monitored, there is always a danger that it will be used to facilitate human rights violations," the human rights group says.

The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council are among the main providers of such military and security assistance, Amnesty says.

"Torture does not happen in a vacuum," Amnesty continues. "The tools and techniques used by officials for deliberately inflicting physical suffering rely on a failure of political will. If the governments of the world had the will to stop torture, they could do so."

Amnesty has demanded a ban on the use of police and security equipment whose use is inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading. It has demanded immediate suspension of the international transfer of electro-shock, leg-cuffs, thumbcuffs, shackle boards, restraint chairs and pepper gas weapons pending the outcome of an independent review into the effects of these devices. It also wants governments to ensure that security training does not include training in torture.