Monday, November 26, 2007

UN says tasers are torture

Apparently the UN have decided that tasers are a form of torture. The UN's Committee against Torture said that "[t]he use of these weapons causes acute pain, constituting a form of torture.... In certain cases, they can even cause death, as has been shown by reliable studies and recent real-life events".

Next week the Committee is due to report on handcuffs and fists and is expected to conclude that they can cause acute pain and so constitute a form of torture. A new campaign called "Make Fists and Handcuffs History" is expected shortly.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

So are guns & bullets

Anonymous said...

Tasers can be a source of amusement to law enforcement and they are the thin end of a 'gestapo is good' mentality.
It is quite likely you would confess to a taser.
Do you really trust police this far.

flashgordonnz said...

SO it's the device itsself, not theuse to which it is put? Interesting. Therefore irons, pokers and car batteries are forms of torture.
So is supporting Westham, I'm told. And sitting in on a UN disscusion.

Angry Steve said...

I am in favour of our armed police having tasers... that said, our armed police haven't exactly been the model of modern and just policing recently, have they?

Anyway, a tasering is less lethal than a double-tap from a 9mm Heckler und Koch MP5 machine pistol. Amnesty should keep that in mind.