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From those dirty liars and imperialist propagandists at Human Rights Watch
The most widespread method of police torture in Russia is prolonged beating. Asphyxiation, suspension by the arms or legs, and electroshock are also common. In addition, police use trusted prisoners in pretrial cells as proxies to beat and threaten suspects into cooperating with an investigation. Police almost always combine physical torture with threats of further physical harm and otherpsychological abuse. In some cases, torture has led to the victim's death or permanent disability.
Our research found several forms of prolonged beatings. Police punch, kick, and use nightsticks or other instruments, aiming for the victim's head, back, legs, kidney area, and heels. In some cases, police put books or criminal case binders on detainees' heads before beating there to avoid leaving traces. Torture by near asphyxiation is used less frequently than sustained beatings but almost always in combination with them. Police officers handcuff their victim to a chair and force an old-fashioned gas mask or a plastic bag over the head. Subsequently, the oxygen supply is cut; at this point, in many cases, police beat the suspect, causing him to hyperventilate. Some victims reported losing consciousness, with police reviving them, demanding they write a confession, and repeating the procedure if they resist. This is called "elephant," or "slonik" in Russian, a reference to the resemblance of a person in a gas mask to the head of an elephant. In July 1995, a public scandal ensued when it was confirmed that a detainee in Saransk died as a result of this torture. Torture by electroshock leaves few marks and, according to Russian human rights organizations, is used frequently. Police use what ex-prisoners call an electric "cranking" machine, which, according to descriptions, resembles an old-fashioned field telephone. The machine produces a current that is transmitted through electrodes attached to the ears of the detainee.
Police also torture detainees by suspending them or painfully binding them. For the "lastochka" (swallow) position, the victim's hands may be cuffed behind his back and attached to an iron bar or pipe so that the detainee hangs without his or her legs touching the ground, while police beat the victim with nightsticks. In a variation on "lastochka," the detainee is forced face down on the ground and his or her legs are tied tightly with a rope to the handcuffed hands. These positions cause grave pain in the joints, cut off the blood supply to the wrists and can dislocate arms or shoulders. In the "konvertik" (envelope) position, the detainee is forced to sit with his or her head between bent knees and his or her hands tied to his or her feet. In Nizhnii Novgorod, a detainee died in the mid-1990s after being held in this position for a long period and subjected to sustained beatings. A forensic examination found forty bruises from nightsticks on his body.
An inseparable part of police torture in Russia is psychological abuse aimed at utterly disorienting the victim. This abuse might consist of strings of insults, which one victim said included "you're a horse," "a pig," "we'll break you," "confess!," "you drunk!," together with threats of continued physical violence, or threats to the suspect's family. These might include threats to "do with you whatever we like"; to kill, rape, or otherwise physically injure the person; to have the person sentenced to death (even if they are not charged with a crime that carriesthe death penalty); to throw the person into a "pressing room" where "criminals will take care of you"; and to harm the person's family. Threats against family members may be particularly effective because the detainee is isolated from the outside world and has no way of knowing what is happening to them.
More than fifty interviews with torture victims did not produce a single case in which lawyers were present at interrogations in which torture or ill-treatment occurred. Police routinely refuse to grant detainees access to a lawyer in the hours after detention, often allowing the presence of a lawyer only after a confession has been secured. In several cases, police called in friendly lawyers who ignored evidence of torture. Asking for a lawyer can be risky because such requests sometimes provoke increased violence by police officers. Police were found frequently to force their victims to write in their confession that they had voluntarily refused the assistance of a lawyer.
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Yes, fewer illegal immigrants working equates to more job opportunities for American citizens.
Rochard
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