The following are torture methods and allegations against the Russian Police for getting confessions from prisoners by using methods of torture. The artwork is by Svetlana Tverdokhlebova © Human Rights Watch 1999

the article is from the human rights watch Confessions at any cost

POLICE USE A VARIETY of methods to torture prisoners into theconfessions they need

These methods include the following

Sustained Beatings
The most widespread method of police torture is sustained beating. Police punch, kick, and use nightsticks or other instruments, aiming for the victim’s head, back, legs, kidney area, and heels.

Threats of Violence
Police combine physical torture with mental abuse to utterly disorient the individual. This abuse consists primarily of threats of continued violence, or threats to the suspect’s family. These insults are usually accompanied by a standard series of threats. These may 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 not charged with a crime that carries the 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 are particularly effective, as the individual is isolated from the outside world and has no way of knowing what is happening to them.

Electroshock

“It’s such a small machine, with a handle. From the ‘cranking machine’ to the ears went two electric wires with clamps, they were attached to the ear lobe. I was attached to the radiator, and one [policeman] still held me by the legs, another by the head. They asked me questions and turned the handle around. At first they turned slowly, then faster. When they turned [it] quickly, I just lost consciousness.” - Torture victim Igor Akhrimenko (Irkutsk).

Suspension and Trussing
Russian police use a variety of torture positions involving suspension or painful binding. For the “lastochka” (the swallow) position, the victim’s hands may be cuffed behind his back and attached to an iron bar or pipe; thus he hangs without his legs touching the ground, while police beat him with nightsticks. In a variation on “lastochka,” the detainee is forced face down on the ground and his legs are tied tightly with a rope to the handcuffed hands. These positions cause grave pain in the joints, cut off blood supply to the wrists, and dislocate arms or shoulders. In the “konvertik” (the envelope) position, the detainee is forced to sit with his head between his bent knees while his hands are tied to his feet.

Asphyxiation

Police officers handcuff their victim to a chair and force an old-fashioned mask or 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; police revived them to demand they write a confession, and repeated the procedure if they resisted. This type of torture is called “slonik” or elephant in Russian, a reference to the resemblance of the gas mask’s hose to an elephant’s trunk.
Slonik (The Elephant)
Slonik (The Elephant)
Svetlana Tverdokhlebova © Human Rights Watch 1999

Torture by Proxy
Police detectives use criminal suspects and defendants who are trusted and given special privileges in SIZOs and IVSs to beat, rape, or otherwise force suspects and defendants into confessing or providing needed testimony. This widespread practice is called the “pressing room” or “press hut” (press-khata in Russian) because police trustees “press” the detainee within the confines of the pretrial cell. In exchange for their services, these prisoners–who serve both as police enforcers and informers–receive privileges, such as access to narcotics and women.

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