BIC Statements at ECOSOC Sessions 1984

          
          .
          UNITED E
          NATIONS
          Economic and Social Council Distr.
          GENERAL
          84 /NGO/5
          .
          E/19
          15 May 1984
          ORIGINALt ENGLISH
          First regular sessiOn of 1984
          Agenda item 10
          HUMAN RIGHTS
          Statement submitted by the Bah 'I International Community,
          a non—governmental organization in consultative status,
          category II
          The Secretary—General has received the following statement, which is
          circulated in accordance with paragraphs 23 and 24 of Economic and Social Council
          resolution 1296 (XLIV) of 23 May 1968.
          The Bahá'f International Community wishes to submit the following information
          with regard to the practice of torture in the contemporary world. This information
          is based on reports received by the Bahá' International Community concerning the
          treatment of Baha”3 prisoners in Evin prison, Teheran.
          Typically, the prisoner is awakened at 4.00 a.m. and taken to the
          interrogation chamber to await the interrogators who arrive at 7.00 a.m. and work
          uninterruptedly on their victim until 4.00 p.m. The prisoner — man or woman — is
          punched and kicked, then tied to a specially designed table and beaten merciles y
          on all parts of the body, but particularly on the soles of the feet with a metal
          cable, rubber hose or similar object while other interrogators administer repeated
          severe blows to the head. The interrogators periodically check to see whether the
          prisoner's will has been broken and whether he is willing to comply with the
          demands of the prison authorities. The treatment continues for hours or days,
          depending on the victim's ability to withstand the torture. A doctor is sometimes
          summoned to administer superficial medical treatment in order to keep the prisoner
          alive. In between beatings, the prisoner is forced to mark time on his lacerated
          feet. The prisoner experiences extreme thirst as a result of the torture and is
          goaded to walk unaided on his grossly swollen legs to slake his thirst with a glass
          of water alluringly displayed some distance away. The severe beatings cause
          internal injuries and the prisoner inevitably passes blood in his urine.
          84—12634 4l98e (E) I...
          BP000135
          
        

          
          E/19 84/NGO/5
          English
          Page 2
          After undergoing torture, the prisoner is taken to an interrogation room.
          Interrogation normally takes place with the prisoner blindfolded or facing a wall,
          so that he cannot identify his interrogators. In cases where both the husband and
          wife are prisoners, one will be shown the damaged body of the other during the
          course of the interrogation. The prisoner is given a questionnaire and ordered to
          complete it according to the wishes of the interrogators. Enfeebled and in a state
          of shock, the prisoner is subjected to blows and abuse if he fails to comply with
          the interrogators' demands. As the post—torture numbness of his body subsides, the
          prisoner is overwhelmed by pain even more excruciating than the agony he suffered
          in the torture chamber. The pattern of torture—interrogation—torture then resumes,
          lessening or increasing in intensity according to the resistance of the victim.
          In order to increase the psychological pressure on prisoners, some are
          transferred from Evin Prison to Gawhar—Dasht Prison in Xaraj', a small town on the
          outskirts of Teheran. They are kept there for weeks or months in solitary
          confinement in isolated cells measuring approximately 1.7 metres by 2 metres.
          Apart from the guards who bring their food, and who curse and beat them, the
          prisoners seeno one and speak to no one. The only sounds they hear are the
          screams and moans of their fellow prisoners who are undergoing torture. The
          purpose of the torture is to extract false confessions which will implicate the
          prisoner and also those who share his beliefs.