torture

Burmese comedian Zarganar paying a high price for straight talk

Sophie — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:02:07 +0200

Three weeks after his arrest on June 4, a Burmese comedian known as "Zarganar" remains in an interrogation centre in Rangoon. The junta has as yet given any explanation as to why they arrested Zarganar, but it is assumed that his critical attitude towards the government in the aftermath of the Nargis cyclone has something to do with it.

The Burmese comedian, film director and political activist has already been detained three times in the past 20 years. He is an avid and outspoken activist, and his comedy often contains references to the ruling regime. Last year he brought attention to himself by handing out food to the protesting monks in September's clashes.

This time, he was arrested after carrying out a humanitarian aid project that brought together some 400 writers, artists and activists to deliver aid to victims of the cyclone that struck almost two months ago. When asked by the media about his reasons, the comedian spoke openly. He told them that the government wasn't doing anything to help. It has now been three weeks since the 47-year-old was arrested, when ten policemen turned up at his home without warning at 10 pm.

Torture is "self-defense" according to the Pentagon

Julien — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:41:48 +0200

In 2003 the U.S. Justice Department sent a memo to the Pentagon in which it conceived torture as a "self-defense" for the purpose of interrogating an "enemy combatant". An Iraqi deputy and a French colonel specialised in the Algerian war react to the document, declassified yesterday and published here in full.

Written by a lawyer for the Justice Department, the memorandum basically said that the American president is entitled by the Constitution to authorise certain forms of torture against al-Qaeda militants for reasons of national security. The Justice nullified the statement nine months after it was sent. But according to the Washington Post, the article served as the "legal foundation for the Defense Department's use of aggressive interrogation practices at a crucial time, as captives poured into military jails from Afghanistan".

Don’t try this at home: waterboarding

Julien — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:49:29 +0100

Waterboarding is a form of interrogation that induces the sensation of drowning, causing the victim to sense intense panic and imminent death. In the last century the method has been considered a crime by the US and been prosecuted against. The Army Field Manual prohibits its use by any military personnel. However increasing rumours of its use by the CIA and the US Army have been circulating since the launch of the ‘war on terror' after Sept. 11, and many high-profile politicians and judges have said that its prohibition needs reassessing. The method is forbidden under the rules of the Geneva Convention.