Kosovo/Kosova As Seen, As Told Use of torture and ill-treatment by officials In interviews victims of ill-treatment and torture related a wide variety of methods used by Serbian police officers and others under their control. These included being beaten with batons, iron rods, iron poles, axe handles, table legs, baseball bats, rifle butts, shovels, chains, and so on. Preferred body areas for beatings seem to have been the kidneys, legs and soles of the feet, the head, hands and palms of the victims. Many times it has been reported to the OSCE-KVM that people were tied to radiators in police stations when they were beaten up. Many victims were kicked, their heads banged against the floor and walls, and knives used to cut their skin and even mutilate them by cutting off their ears and noses. On many occasions the ill-treatment had specific sexual elements: people had to undress and were beaten on their genitals. Rape and other forms of sexual violence were frequently used as a form of torture against women (see Chapter 7, Rape and other forms of sexual violence). Article 1 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment defines torture as any act which: - Causes severe physical or mental suffering - Is intentionally inflicted for a particular purpose - Is inflicted by or with the acquiescence of an official, and is therefore attributable to the 9 state. 10 "Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" is less clearly defined in international standards. It can be said to comprise comparable acts or omissions by state officials which also cause pain or suffering but which differ from torture in their severity, intent or purpose. If there is a progression of seriousness, with torture at the top and degrading treatment at the lower end of the scale, all points on the scale are illegitimate and violate international law. It is often difficult, especially in field conditions, clearly to qualify acts of state organs as torture or ill-treatment. By the same token, it is hard to make this distinction if the reports are based on eye-witness statements alone. In this section, therefore, examples are given which doubtless amount to ill-treatment, whereas their qualification as torture remains a question of degree. Ill-treatment was one of the most characteristic features of the conflict in Kosovo, and accounts for the highest number of reports and witness statements received by the OSCE-KVM. The majority of reports refer to acts of violence in the context of the forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians during the months of March to June 1999. Examples of torture and ill-treatment can be found in every part of the section of recorded events in Kosovo's municipalities, as well as in most other sections on specific patterns of human rights violations (Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest, Right to Fair Trial, Sexual Violence, etc). http://www.osce.org/kosovo/documents/reports/hr/part1/ch6.htm (2 of 12)12/5/2003 11:51:07 AM