Tag Archives: Torture

Many Americans Believe In Torture

Guantanamo detainee's feet are shackled to the floor

By Chris Kahn

(Reuters) – Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe torture can be justified to extract information from suspected terrorists, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, a level of support similar to that seen in countries like Nigeria where militant attacks are common.

The poll reflects a U.S. public on edge after the massacre of 14 people in San Bernardino in December and large-scale attacks in Europe in recent months, including a bombing claimed by the militant group Islamic State last week that killed at least 32 people in Belgium.

Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, has forcefully injected the issue of whether terrorism suspects should be tortured into the election campaign.

Trump has said he would seek to roll back President Barack Obama’s ban on waterboarding – an interrogation technique that simulates drowning that human rights groups contend is illegal under the Geneva Conventions. Trump has also vowed to “bring back a hell of a lot worse” if elected.

Trump’s stance has drawn broad criticism from human rights organizations, world bodies, and political rivals. But the poll findings suggest that many Americans are aligned with Trump on the issue, although the survey did not ask respondents to define what they consider torture.

“The public right now is coping with a host of negative emotions,” said Elizabeth Zechmeister, a Vanderbilt University professor who has studied the link between terrorist threats and public opinion. “Fear, anger, general anxiety: (Trump) gives a certain credibility to these feelings,” she said.

The March 22-28 online poll asked respondents if torture can be justified “against suspected terrorists to obtain information about terrorism.” About 25 percent said it is “often” justified while another 38 percent it is “sometimes” justified. Only 15 percent said torture should never be used.

Republicans were more accepting of torture to elicit information than Democrats: 82 percent of Republicans said torture is “often” or “sometimes” justified, compared with 53 percent of Democrats. (Graphic: http://tmsnrt.rs/1ShObx1)

About two-thirds of respondents also said they expected a terrorist attack on U.S. soil within the next six months.

TERRORISM TOP CONCERN

Surveys by other polling agencies in recent years have shown U.S. support for the use of torture at around 50 percent. A 2014 survey by Amnesty International, for example, put American support for torture at about 45 percent, compared with 64 percent in Nigeria, 66 percent in Kenya and 74 percent in India.

Nigeria is battling a seven-year-old insurgency that has displaced 2 million people and killed thousands, while al Shabaab militants have launched a series of deadly attacks in Kenya. India is fighting a years-old Maoist insurgency that has killed hundreds.

In November, terrorism replaced economy as the top concern for many Americans in Reuters/Ipsos polling, shortly after militants affiliated with the Islamic State killed 130 people in Paris. (Graphic: http://polling.reuters.com/#!poll/SC8/type/smallest/dates/20151101-20151231/collapsed/true/spotlight/1)

At the same time, Trump surged in popularity among Republicans, who viewed him as the strongest candidate to deal with terrorism. Besides his advocacy of waterboarding, Trump said that he would “bomb the hell out of ISIS,” using an alternative acronym for Islamic State.

“You’re dealing with people who don’t play by any rules. And I can’t see why we would tie our hands and take away options like waterboarding,” said Jo Ann Tieken, 71, a Trump supporter.

Tieken said her views had been influenced by the injuries suffered by her two step-grandsons while serving in the military four years ago in Afghanistan.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll included 1,976 people. It has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 2.5 percentage points for the entire group and about 4 percentage points for both Democrats and Republicans. (Graphic: http://reut.rs/1Rp3x6C)

(Reporting by Chris Kahn; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Ross Colvin)

Pakistani Police Beat and Torture “Scores” of Christians

Over 100 Pakistani Christians were arrested after the lynching of two Islamists believed to be involved in two church bombings that killed 17 Christians.  Now, some of the prisoners have been released and are showing evidence of brutal treatment from Pakistani police.

The International Christian Concern says that some of the 30 released from jail say they were beaten and given other tortures in an attempt to get them to confess to being a part of the killings.

“They were telling us that they were beaten to a pulp,” ICC President Jeff King told The Christian Post at Tuesday’s press conference. “A lot of times, what they are saying is that they get beaten to a pulp and get left on their doorstep in a bloody mess, and the whole point was to extract confessions.”

King said that the ICC condemns the killing of the two Muslim men and that just needs to be done, but that Pakistani officials are using the situation to target and harass Christians.

We would seek for justice for those Muslim families but arbitrary arrests and detention are not the way to get justice,” King told the Christian Post. “They only serve further flames of injustice and hatred. Frankly, it is a mark of a Banana republic and an incompetent police force.”

“They are just fishing and seeing if they can beat confessions out of random people from the neighborhood,” King added. “Foreign police forces know that this is actually terrible police work because people will falsely confess to end their beatings. But, you are not getting justice.”

Court Awards $330 Million To Family Of Slain Missionary

In a landmark judgment against the nation of North Korea, the family of an American missionary who was kidnapped and killed by North Korean agents has been awarded $330 million.

Rev. Kim Dong-Shik, who had been taken by North Korean agents while he was in China, was taken in January 2000 and tortured to death in a prison camp in North Korea.   Kim was born in South Korea but a permanent resident of the United States.  He had been working as a missionary providing humanitarian aid and religious council to Christians who had fled North Korea at the time of his kidnapping.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia awarded $15 million to Kim’s son and brother along with $300 million in punitive damages.

“This is an important human rights decision that will be utilized in all political abduction cases going forward,” Israel Law Center head Nitsana Darshan-Leitner told The Christian Post.

The court ruled that when a foreign regime abducts an individual, it is the responsibility of the abductors to prove that the person has not been murdered.

“We are grateful that the court has found that once we proved the kidnapping of Rev. Kim by North Korean intelligence and brought human rights experts to testify about the horrific conditions in the political detention camps, the burden must be on Pyongyang to show was still alive after so many years,” Darshan-Leitner said.

Christian watchdog groups say around 100,000 Christians are being tortured and forced into hard labor at North Korean prison camps.

Nigerian Christian Survives Brutal Boko Haram “Conversion Attack”

The Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram is known for invading villages and giving the residents the option to convert to Islam or die.  What has not been known is the extent of the brutality this group has used to try and get conversions, along with why so many people seem to give in to their demands.

A Christian man, John Yakuba, had fled the city of Gwoza with his family when the terrorists first began to invade.  He and his family had to leave everything behind in the rush to get away and save their lives.

Unfortunately, his family was unable to find a place to live that would support them so he had to return to the village to see if he could recapture some of their livestock.

The terrorists seized him before he could even make it to his former home.

“You must convert to Islam or else you will die a painful death,” he was told.

“You can kill my body, but not my soul,” Yakuba repied.

The terrorists then methodically began slashing his body with a machete.  His hands, then his back, then his feet.  All the time asking if he would follow Allah.  When it became clear the man would not deny the Savior Jesus Christ, they hit him in the knee and head with an axe and left him for dead when he passed out.

In what can only be described as a miracle, someone spotted Yakuba tied to a tree three days after the assault and Yakuba was alive.  He is currently recovering in a hospital in a safe area of the country.

“I have forgiven the Islamic militants because they did not know what they are doing,” Yakuba told witnesses at the hospital.

Christian Beaten, Tortured, Killed For Not Converting To Islam

A Christian man in Iraq has been used “as an example” by the Islamic terrorist group ISIS in an attempt to intimidate other non-Muslims in the region.

Salen Matty Georgis, 43, had stayed in the Christian town of Bartella after ISIS overran the Iraqi forces protecting the town on August 7th.  Georgis had a heart conditions that made it impossible for him to travel.

After living in hiding for three weeks, Georgis ran out of food.  ISIS seized him immediately after he left his home.

“The [terrorist] patrol arrests him and tried to force him to convert to Islam,” a relative who did not want to be identified told the Christian Post.  “He completely refused [to renounce Christ.]  The militants beat him and tortured him until he died in their hands.”

“The international community cannot remain silent about the existential threat that Iraq’s Christian communities are facing. We are witnessing the emptying of Christians from their homelands,” Todd Daniels of International Christian Concern said. “We applaud the United Nations for meeting regarding these human rights abuses, but in the face of such horrific violence, action must be taken to ensure the protection of these communities.”

A 13-year-old Christian boy that escaped an ISIS prison camp told reporters that he saw beheadings, stonings and crucifixions carried out by the terrorists.  Other Christians were forced to watch the killings.

Saeed Abedini Finally Receives Medical Treatment

Imprisoned pastor Saeed Abedini is finally receiving hospital treatment for internal injuries suffered at the hands of his captors in Iranian prisons.

Naghmeh Abedini told Faith Radio her husband is finally being given decent meals and pain medication to deal with this wounds.  He had been transferred to a hospital from Rajai Shahr prison, called Iran’s deadliest prison.

However, Saeed reportedly still needs to undergo surgery.

Iran backed off and called a “mistake” their recent actions where they shackled Abedini and denied him any medical treatment.  The reversal came after a worldwide outcry of abuse.

His lawyers with the American Center for Law and Justice say the Iranian guards are still blocking visitors.

Venezuela Moves Quickly To Eliminate Opposition

Venezuelan leaders have begun to blatantly ignore human rights in squelching protests and opposition to their rule.

President Nicolas Maduro has been warning opposition leaders for weeks that they will be jailed and tortured like opposition hardliner Leopoldo Lopez if they do not stop opposing his plans for the country.

Thursday the government arrested two opposition members of the legislature and had already sentenced one of them to 10 months in jail.  Another congresswoman is jailed and the government is working to strip away her congressional immunity from prosecution because of her opposition to Maduro.

The mayor of San Diego, Enzo Scarano, was removed from his position by the Supreme Court which is loaded with Maduro associates.  He was jailed for not following a court order to remove protester barricades from the city.

Maduro said Thursday he will “neutralize” the “country’s enemies.”

Teen Girls Torture Autistic Teen

Two Washington, DC area teenagers are in jail after being arrested on charges related to torturing an autistic boy.

Lauren Bush, 17 and a 15-year-old girl recorded their assaults against the 16-year-old victim.  In addition to forcing him to perform various personal indignities, they stabbed him multiple times and dragged him around by his hair.

They also forced the victim to walk across a partially frozen pond where he fell through the ice multiple times.  The suspects refused to help the boy out of the frigid water and laughed as he struggled to get back onto the  ice surface.

Bush is being charged as an adult.  Both defendants are facing charges of 1st degree assault, 2nd degree assault, production of child pornography and false imprisonment.

Bush and her co-conspirator have not told police why they committed the acts against the boy.

UN North Korea Report Shows Sketches Of Torture

The United Nations report on the atrocities committed by the North Korean government is slowly being completely released to the public and the latest information shows horrific drawings of torture.

A man who survived two years inside a prison camp gave the sketches to the UN.  The drawings show a glimpse into the camp where cameras are forbidden by the North Korean government.

“This was the first thing that I saw: there it said that ‘if you run, you die,'” Kim Kwang-Il told the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights.

“We are supposed to think there’s an imaginary motorcycle and we are supposed to be in this position as if we are riding the motorcycle. And for this, we pose as if we are airplanes ourselves. We are flying. And if we stand like this there’s no way that you can hold that position for a long time. You are bound to fall forward. Everybody in the detention center goes through this kind of torture,” said Kwang-Il, who was able to escape to South Korea.

Kwang-Il was sentenced to 29 months in a labor camp for smuggling pine nuts into the country.

Witnesses say the prisoners are kept starving to the point they would eat rats or snakes that they would catch in their cells or outside their buildings.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is pressing for the International Criminal Court to put North Korean leaders on trial.